Perhaps
by Maricole
Summary: A Cole and Phoebe story - please read
1. Default Chapter

**PERHAPS**

(New Story Cole/Phoebe)

_I have written this as a follow up to my story, Regrets (buried somewhere here in the archives, try to read that first)., It is set after Centennial Charmed, but before all the silliness of the Titans and Leo's becoming an Elder. Basically it is set in my very own Land of Denial. Please let me know what you think – many thanks._

PROLOGUE

Phoebe turned around slowly, her heart still racing, and looked expectantly back into her room. There was no one there – the unexplained breeze that had ruffled her curtains was gone,

they were hanging limply at her window. Her momentary optimism also waned, for one exiting moment, she thought that he would be there, behind her, but her room was empty. She felt

her whole life was empty. The finality of losing him was a physical weight on her.

She knew she could no longer hide up here, in her bedroom, the bedroom he had shared with her. She took a deep breath, and went down stairs; to try to take up her life again, empty

though it was. There was work, there were her sisters, and there was Wyatt to love, she told herself. Maybe it would not be so empty. And maybe, when she had mourned sufficiently,

maybe she would meet someone else. She knew that there was no future with Jason now – he had been a rebound thing, good looking and fun to be with but that was all.

Cole had been her soul mate – and though she had not been able to keep faith with him when it mattered, she knew she would never get over loving him.

Piper was sitting in the conservatory, with Wyatt on her knee, singing softly to her baby.

She looked up at Phoebe, and smiled.

"Look Pheebs, he's trying to clap his hands!" she said proudly. "Isn't he clever."

"Oh yes, clever baby," cooed Phoebe, picking Wyatt up, and twirling around the room, with the giggling baby in her arms. "The cleverest baby in the world," and as she danced with the baby,

her sense of loss grew sharper, just for a second, and she knew it was not only Cole's loss she was going to be mourning.

Cole Turner sat on the highest rock he could find, staring out at the unfriendly landscape; the red sky was hot and streaked here and there with poisonous orange and harsh yellow lights,

the dirt and dust was also red and orange, the rocks were brown and red in color, he was surrounded by shades of red, brown and orange. He stared at nothing in particular, he had been

sitting on this rock for a long time, longer than he could remember, he had lost the feeling in his left leg, and now his lower back was starting to go numb as well.

He had been in the flames for a long time, flames that had seared his body, engulfed him totally, but spat him out, without any outward sign of burning.

He was amazed that he could still actually feel physical pain, in some dark corner of his mind he sensed that his body was on the point of shutting down, he had ignored all warning

messages his brain was sending him, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a very long time, hadn't slept or done any thing else for a very long time. He knew that time passed very

differently here in the Wasteland, he had been here before, and escaped – perhaps he could even escape this time – but he didn't care, wasn't even willing to try. Images of his past kept

flashing into his mind – snippets of a time long gone – tempting him, calling him, tantalizing him, but he was resolute in ignoring everything. There was no future for him, so the past was just

that – past. He would not go back, he could not face going back to fail again. He would sit on this rock till he dropped dead – or the beast found and devoured him.


	2. Chapter 1

Many thanks to those who reviewed this for me, as fanfic writers you know how important it is to get some feedback. Please continue to let me know what you think of my story.  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
Phoebe Halliwell had had a trying day. She had been abused by several of her readers, over what they considered bad advice, been hauled over the coals by her editor concerning late deadlines, caught the heel of one of her good shoes in the elevator opening, nearly falling headfirst in the process, and to top it all off, she had broken her longest fingernail, when her hand slipped off the door handle of her car. She stalked into the manor, throwing her coat at the coat rack, and scowling when it slid off, and onto the floor. " Typical," she cried dramatically "I think that everything is against me today," as she entered the dining room, where Piper was arranging the table for dinner.  
  
"I've had such a bad day..." but whatever else she was going to say was cut short by the sound of orbing, and Leo appeared in a sparkle of blue and white lights. "Where's Paige?" he asked quickly, looking around, "Tell her to get Wyatt and get out of the house –" as behind him, in a shrill cacophony of bells, a darklighter appeared, with his crossbow primed and ready to shoot. Piper immediately froze him, and Phoebe ran forward and grabbed the crossbow out of his hands, throwing it into the air, where Piper exploded it. "Leo, get Paige and hide," she screamed, as the darklighter fought off the freeze, and magically grabbed another crossbow. She refroze him and Phoebe levitated and kicked him savagely across the room, even as he broke free of the freeze again. As the darklighter climbed to his feet and vanished, they heard the cry of the alarm around Wyatt start shrilly calling, and Paige came running into the kitchen to see what was happening. "Get Wyatt, Pheebs," called Piper, as the darklighter vanished. "Leo – what is going on?" Leo turned and came back into the room, clutching his left arm, with his right hand.  
  
"He must have followed my orbs," he said faintly, as he started to topple. Piper rushed to catch him as he fell backwards. Then she noticed the dark arrow, sticking out of his sleeve. "Oh no," she cried, "Paige, can you help me?" as she eased him back onto the lounge. Paige ran over to help Piper. "Stay back, till I get rid of this arrow," cried Piper, not wanting Paige to be hurt as well. She screwed up her courage, and pushed the arrow hard, till it came through the other side of Leo's arm. He gave a small cry, and Piper pulled the crossbow bolt out resolutely, knowing speed was of the essence. She dropped the nasty thing onto the coffee table, then urged Paige to try to start to heal her husband. Leo was fading fast, the darklighter's poison already shutting down his system. As Paige bent over her brother-in-law, another darklighter appeared in a swirl of dark lights, and raised his bow. Piper immediately froze him, and he disappeared. From upstairs the wail of Wyatt's alarm still called. Piper was in a horrible situation – she knew she couldn't leave Paige or Leo unprotected from the attacks of the darklighters, but her son needed her, and what had happened to Phoebe? "Hurry, hurry Paige, is he getting better?" she asked, flicking her eyes from side to side, to make sure there were no unseen attackers in the manor. Another darklighter appeared, - once again Piper was able to vanquish him. With tears in her eyes, she glanced around, then back at Paige, who was perspiring with the effort of trying to send healing into Leo's body. Abruptly the wail from upstairs stopped.  
  
***** ********** *****  
  
Phoebe had rushed up the stairs, and collided with Wyatt's closed door. She could hear his alarm sounding, but she couldn't open the nursery door, it was jammed shut, obviously with magic. She heard the sounds of battle downstairs, and immediately spun around, then launched herself at the door, with a savage karate kick. The door flew open, and she bounced into the room, stopping short and staring at the woman who was standing as close to the crib as the barrier allowed. She raced over with the intention of fighting this woman to the ground, but as she made eye contact, she felt her body slow, her breathing become heavy, and knew that she was caught in some sort of thrall. The woman did not say anything for a long time, she just stared at Phoebe, with almost familiar eyes. She had long dark hair, she was slender and no taller than Phoebe, which wasn't very tall, and she had amazing blue eyes with thick eyelashes. She was very beautiful. Phoebe slowed to a halt, unable to move at all now, captured, staring into the stranger's eyes. The sound of Wyatt's alarm grew ever more and more distant, the beating of her heart, and her slow and measured breaths filled her ears. The panic she was feeling washed out of her, she felt calm and almost – floating ... The woman looked down at the crying baby, and as he watched her, he stopped his crying, and stared back up. Somewhere deep inside her brain, Phoebe started screaming – 'no don't stop crying baby, don't start to relax', but she could make no sound.  
  
Wyatt smiled and his barrier vanished. The woman bent down and picked him up, holding his small chubby body next to hers, and smiling a little, kissed one of his little fists. She looked back over at Phoebe, and walked over to her, rocking the baby, who was laughing up at her, and reached out, standing still, to take her hand and place it on Phoebe's forehead. After what seemed like forever, but could have only been a few minutes, the woman withdrew her hand, and placed the baby in Phoebe's arms. "He is not the baby I was looking for," she told Phoebe, in a quiet voice. "I will call off the attack," and then she disappeared in a shimmer.  
  
***** ******* ******  
  
Phoebe stood there, rocking back and forth, holding Wyatt tightly against her chest, unable to believe that he hadn't been taken, or hurt. Wyatt began to struggle after a moment, he loved cuddles, but this was going too far – and when his beloved Auntie Phoebe didn't loosen her grip, he began to cry in earnest. Piper, Leo and Paige came rushing through the door, Piper breaking down in tears when she realized that Phoebe held the baby, and that he was safe. 


	3. Chapter 2

Thank to you few who bothered to review. It really helps to know that someone likes my story. Robyn  
  
CHAPTER 2  
  
"I have no idea who she was," repeated Phoebe. "She had awesome power – she even had Wyatt fooled into dropping his shield!" "I can't stand that she picked him up," said Piper, rocking the baby in her arms, "She could have done anything! Leo – do you have any idea? Would they have any idea what that was all about?" indicating the Elders with a toss of her head. Leo was lying on the lounge, still recovering from the darklighters' attacks. Paige was sitting next to Phoebe, holding her hand, and keeping an eye on Leo at the same time. Leo shook his head. "I don't recognize her from your description," he said to Phoebe. "You said – he wasn't the baby she was looking for?" Phoebe nodded. "She held him, cuddled him, then somehow read my thoughts – and gave him back to me. I was totally unable to move," she said, shuddering as she recalled her feeling of helplessness. "I think that maybe I wasn't the one she was after either." "I'll get the Book of Shadows," said Paige, getting up. "We'll have to put some serious magical blocks around this house – I'm sick of these other world beings that feel they can just drop in without calling first!"  
  
Piper smiled at her indignant tone. Her heart rate was starting to return to normal – but just thinking of her precious baby in the arms of a demon was enough to make her really mad!  
  
"Well she came with her own army –" said Phoebe, "I mean, she organized the darklighters. She got them to follow Leo, so she must have known about us."  
  
"Yes, but was it a Charmed thing – or was it just Wyatt she was interested in?" asked Piper.  
  
"Or as it turns out – not interested in." said Phoebe. "And does that mean that another witch's baby is in danger somewhere?"  
  
"Leo, if you feel up to it, how about checking with the Elders? Phoebe and I will go upstairs to see if Paige has found anything. I'll keep Wyatt with me," and Piper headed towards the stairs, with Phoebe following behind.  
  
Paige was flicking through the book, and she looked up as they entered, shaking her head. "I can't find anything that mentions that particular demon," she said.  
  
"Nor anything that explains why the darklighters would attack. I mean, it's like they were organized."  
  
Piper shifted Wyatt to her other side, and he clutched her hair, and began sucking on it. "No, baby, that's not nice," she said, pulling it free. "And you are not supposed to let strange women or demons pick you up either!" she told him, as she smiled down at him.  
  
"Bub bub bub" he said, and she kissed his cheek.  
  
"Don't think you can talk me round, young man," she whispered to him, "I don't want you in any danger."  
  
Phoebe put her arms around Piper and Wyatt. "I don't want any of us in danger," she said shuddering as she recalled how easily their otherword visitor had beaten the magic barrier around the baby.  
  
"From your description of her, she sounds like she could have been a seductress demon," said Paige, still flipping pages madly, "But she would have to be a very powerful one. I didn't think they had the sort of power to overcome ours. And what would a seductress want with a baby?"  
  
"I don't know," said Phoebe, still shaken. "But I haven't felt such power for a long time."  
  
Piper looked at her sister, in concern. "Are you all right sis?" she asked. "You said she read your mind – specifically what?"  
  
"I can't really say," replied Phoebe. "It was a whirl – but I think, that most of what she got, was about Cole – and I have no idea why."  
  
"Cole?" repeated Paige, - "Are you still thinking about him? I thought that was way over!"  
  
"Well after last week, - running into that guy from the FBI – of course I was thinking about Cole!" said Phoebe, firing up suddenly. "Can you blame me? I mean, you were there, you saw him – how much like Cole he was!" And she shut her eyes against the sudden flare of pain mixed with fear that always seemed to accompany any mention of her demon ex.  
  
Piper shook her head, and put Wyatt on the ground, and stood between her sisters.  
  
"I'm sorry you are thinking about Cole again, Pheebs, but we have to work something out about these attacks on our house. Paige is right, we need to put some magical blocks on the house itself. Let's wait and see what Leo comes up with about the darklighters and the demon – and start searching the Book for magic ways to prevent intruders!"  
  
*** **** ***** **** ***  
  
Behind him, some loose rocks rolled together, with a clicking noise, and he swung around, gradually realizing he had been hearing unusual noises for a while. He scanned the brown outcrop on which he was perched; listening intently now, sure he could hear something. He wondered if the beast had learned to climb, - maybe even now it was creeping up behind him, ready to pounce...his heartbeat accelerated, perhaps he wasn't ready to die!  
  
More rocks slid down. Cole eased back into the shadows of an overhanging rock, focused now on something other than his own misery! Gradually he could hear footsteps, hesitant, stumbling – and labored breathing.  
  
He held his breath, and watched in amazement as someone he once knew came clambering into view. "Jael, what on earth are you doing here?" he exclaimed, stepping out from the shadows, and the half demon he knew as Jael, swung around, his feet slipping on the shale, and he sat down hard.  
  
"Damn you Belthazor, you made me bite my tongue," Jael grumbled, then looking up at Cole in astonishment, "I could ask the same thing – what are you doing here?"  
  
"I was vanquished by the Charmed Ones – again," said Cole. "It seems to be my fate to end up here. This is the second time."  
  
"Well this is my first," grumbled Jael, "and I don't like it. There's a bloody great snake thing down there, it tried to eat me!"  
  
"The beast," said Cole. "It devours any demonic remains – and absorbs the powers."  
  
At that moment, the sky was rent by a flash of lightening, a flaming demonic form plunged screaming to the ground, and the beast was on top of it.  
  
Jael scrambled away from the edge of the rock.  
  
"Wow – did you see that?" he demanded, his eyes wild. "That's disgusting! How come you are still alive? And Me? I don't understand."  
  
"I think it has to do with the fact that we are not fully demonic," said Cole slowly, "I think our human half prevents us from burning out. What do you remember about your vanquish?"  
  
"I was sent after a statue, a small jade thing – supposedly it had great powers of protection. There was a coven of witches waiting – they had a potion which they threw at me – I remember the burning – the pain - especially the pain – then I was falling – falling - and I landed on this rock – down around there. The snake thing – the beast came close to where I was, and I decided to get higher – that's about it, till you appeared out of the shadows and scared what was left of the hell out of me!"  
  
Jael paused to take a deep breath, wincing and ducking as another demon plummeted to earth in a fiery ball. "How long have you been here? I haven't heard anything about you for ages – there were stories going around that you were a traitor, that you married a witch! Then that changed and the rumour was that you were the Source? How did you end up here? And do you know how to get the hell out of here, which is a much more important thing!"  
  
Cole sat down on the rock, next to Jael "I'm not sure if I can get back a second time," he said slowly. "I will try in a minute. First I want you to tell me what is going on in the Underworld. I haven't been back there since I was first vanquished – when I was possessed as the Source. Who is the leader, and what is the current mood like?"  
  
"Zaytak is in charge, or trying to take charge I should say, at the moment. That's how I ended up here – he sent me to the Mortal Realm to get this statue – and he knew I had little or no knowledge of humans – they have not been my interest or my study. But he wanted me to go, because I was a half- breed, and we 'fit in better'. I think he just did it to get rid of me – all the half-breeds are having a hard time. In fact, I don't think there are too many of us left. Zaytak and his followers believe in purity of line – and let's face it you and I missed out there! And of course, since the whole Triad thing, and killing Raynor, you haven't been in good standing with the Brotherhood."  
  
"You said Zaytak was trying to take charge," said Cole, "Who is he trying to take it from?"  
  
"Well no one in particular," replied Jael – "But there were whispers of a fairly high level demon returning from the Continent to organize the Underworld properly, it's been really messy since you - err - the Seer should I say, exploded and took out a lot of the Upper Level. In fact, no one knows what really happened – was the Seer really pregnant with your baby?"  
  
Cole smiled grimly, and studied the ground. 'Well I guess you could say so," he said, "But not how you think. She cast a spell, and transferred the baby out of my wife, and into her. I wasn't around when it happened; the witches had already vanquished me. For the first time, that is. But my wife told me that's what happened. The Seer couldn't handle the power that my son had, and exploded in a big way. Serves her right, the stupid cow. My son would have been the most powerful being in either Realm."  
  
"Well, enough of this chatting," said Jael standing up, "I'd love to sit and catch up on the last 50 years or so, so lets do it, but somewhere else. Can you get us out of here? Somewhere not so hot, near a beach would be nice. A five star hotel would be even nicer. Or so I've heard."  
  
Cole stood up as well, and holding out his hand to Jael, thought about his rooms in the Underworld, and then in a split second, blurred, taking the other half demon with him. 


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3  
  
Leo glanced up, and turned to Piper, who was feeding Wyatt his mashed vegetables, and trying to avoid wearing them at the same time. "I'm going to see what I can find out," he said to her, "I'll be back soon." And he disappeared in a mist of blue and white orbs.  
  
Wyatt put out his hands to try and catch one, laughing with glee, he thought his Daddy's trick just wonderful. Piper wiped his mouth again, smiling at her son's exuberance.  
  
"Oh yes, Daddy's clever," she crooned to him. Paige wandered into the kitchen, picking an apple from the fruit bowl, and perched on the table, next to her sister.  
  
"Was that Leo leaving?" she enquired, taking a large bite of the apple.  
  
"Yes, and Wyatt is very exited by the whole orbing process," said Piper "He tries to catch the orbs. It's really cute."  
  
"Look baby, Aunty Paige can do it too," said Paige, and she orbed out, then back again.  
  
Wyatt giggled in glee, little arms waving madly in the air.  
  
"Don't show off" said Piper, trying to spoon more vegetables into the baby's mouth.  
  
"You're just jealous cause you can't do it," said Paige cheekily, grabbing one of Wyatt's chubby little fists, and kissing it. "And let's face it, Wyatt isn't nearly so impressed by your ability to make something stay perfectly still or blow it up."  
  
"Paige," said Piper "Why don't you see if Phoebe is ready for tea, then start serving our meal, while I clean up Wyatt?"  
  
"O.K. but changing the subject is a lousy way to win an argument," Paige retorted as she skipped out of the room.  
  
"I wasn't aware that we were arguing," called Piper, smiling to herself as she picked Wyatt out of his high chair, and sat him on her lap.  
  
Leo returned just as they were about to sit down for tea. The three girls looked up at him, and Piper indicated he should sit, and went and got his meal from the microwave.  
  
"What's up?" asked Paige, "Did they know anything this time?"  
  
"Well, they wanted to let me know that a very powerful demon has just turned up on their radar. They are not sure who he is yet. But they say there is a familiar feel about him, like – almost like you have vanquished him before, but now he's back."  
  
"Oh please," said Paige, "Doesn't anyone stay dead anymore?"  
  
Phoebe looked up at the others, a glow igniting in her beautiful dark eyes. "It's Cole – it has to be Cole," she said, unable to keep the emotion out of her voice, but Leo frowned slightly, and shook his head.  
  
"I don't believe that the Elders' think it's Cole," he said slowly. "They know him, they would know the feel of his presence. This is something different – something even more powerful, yet still familiar."  
  
Phoebe dropped her eyes back to her dinner, losing interest in the conversation.  
  
Piper, Paige and Leo exchanged glances above her dark brown head, and Piper got up and came around the table, to sit next to her sister, just to put her arm around her and give her a slight hug.  
  
"Could it be the Source?" asked Paige, "I mean, he was the most powerful, wasn't he?"  
  
Leo shook his head. "The Source would also be easily identified by the Elders, for the same reason. He was their enemy for 500 years. However, you vanquished any number of very powerful demons, and it could be any one of them."  
  
"How could it be?" demanded Paige, "If we vanquished them – how can they come back? That is so not fair!"  
  
"Sometimes the veil between this world and the world of the dead thins," said Leo thoughtfully, "And those who know how, can pass through. Not many have the chance, or the knowledge, but obviously, those who do, can."  
  
"Again – not fair," said Paige, "Why don't we have that ability?"  
  
"Well, actually, we do come back also," said Phoebe slowly, "Not in the physical, but in spirit. Look at Grams and Mom - and hopefully soon, Prue!"  
  
"Still no fair," grumbled Paige, and picked up her dish, and started clearing the table.  
  
Phoebe joined her at the sink, rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher. She turned around to look at Leo suddenly –  
  
"Could it have been that demon that was here yesterday? Could she be the one the Elders' are sensing?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose so," replied Leo, considering. "It's possible, though the Elders' didn't know who she was. They will keep me posted if there are any more attacks, on any other witches."  
  
"And I have put a force field around the house," said Paige. "Just like a magic doorbell, no one can orb or shimmer or blink in and out with ringing it first! It was all I could do – anything stronger could hurt someone."  
  
"I hope that I won't set it off all the time," said Leo, "Or you,"  
  
"No," replied Paige, "I allowed for us. I just want some warning from now on, if we are going to be attacked."  
  
Piper and Phoebe exchanged glances, both remembering the time Prue had booby-trapped the attic, and caught Cole.  
  
Phoebe sighed, then smiled at Paige, "You have certainly learned heaps and heaps lately," she said admiringly to her younger sister. "You are becoming the Super Witch. Piper and I better keep on our toes."  
  
Paige smiled – "Piper and you are way ahead of me," she said. "But I have studied a lot since I gave up work and I just want us to be safe."  
  
*************************************  
  
Jael dropped Cole's hand quickly, and sank to his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Man that is a rush," he said, "Where the hell did you pick up that ability?"  
  
"Last time in the Wasteland," replied Cole, looking around to make sure they were not seen. "It looks like these rooms are not being used by anyone yet, but we can't stay here long, we might get caught. Let me rest here for a while, then we will have to go somewhere else. Do you know of any place?" and he sank down on the bed in the corner.  
  
Jael shook his head. "I was stationed at the Learning Centre – the library, I have been there for over 30 years – I was a scholar for heaven's sake. I'm not into all this trying to take over the world thing or invading the other Realm – you know I was never any good at physical stuff – hell you came to my rescue heaps of times when we were studying together! The Learning Centre is now being run by the Brotherhood – or should I say Zaytak – he controls them now! That's how I was 'reassigned' – once he knew I was a half breed, and I knew you – my fate was sealed!" he looked over and saw the expression on Cole's face and added "Don't blame yourself Belthazor, I don't. I am very pissed at Zaytak though. I mean, you just saved me from the Wasteland, so I guess we can call it quits!"  
  
"We can't stay here though," repeated Cole "And please stop calling me Belthazor – that part of me is dead or buried so deep he will never come out again – my human name is Cole. Have you got any powers left at all?"  
  
Jael looked at him, in sudden fear. "What do you mean, any powers left?"  
  
"Well usually going through the barrier into the Wasteland burns them all away or does something to them – I don't know what, but I figured out that's why no one else has come back before. It was only luck that I got more while I was there – but I don't think you did."  
  
Jael closed his eyes for a moment; then opened them again, looking around in horror at the rocky walls. "I can't shimmer," he said in panic "Oh Lucifer – what on earth am I going to do?"  
  
"Try and stay calm," said Cole – "There may be a way of restoring your powers – surely you would have come across something in one of your many manuscripts in the Library. Maybe I can do ,,, – " he stopped talking as they heard footsteps coming along the corridor outside the room, and they both pressed back into the darkness.  
  
A large black demon, with blue tribal markings entered the cavern, looking around intently, and turned to speak to a similarly marked demon entering behind him, "I am sure I heard something," the first one growled, "There is someone here, or someone has been here, very recently. – Go and get the tracker – if anyone has been hiding in here without permission – they will be questioned."  
  
The second demon shimmered off, and Cole stepped out of the shadows. 


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 As Phoebe was entering the magazine offices, the next day, she bumped into her boss Jason, as they both ran for the lift together.  
  
As the doors shut, he turned to take her into his arms, and was about to kiss her passionately, when the doors opened again, and in stepped a woman.  
  
Jason dropped his arms immediately, and looked at Phoebe, his eyes brimming with mischief, but was surprised to see almost apprehension in Phoebe's beautiful brown eyes. He studied her for a moment, seeing a trace of sadness behind her expression, and wondered what had happened since he had seen her just over a week ago.  
  
When the lift jarred to a halt, between two floors, all three of the occupants looked at each other questioningly.  
  
"Oh no, not again," said Phoebe, pushing the door closed button, and then the floor button.  
  
The woman, who was no taller than Phoebe, and was wearing a drab brown skirt, brown jumper and thick brown stockings, dark glasses and had her dark hair pulled tightly back in an unflattering style, looked at Phoebe in alarm, and put her hand up to her throat in fear.  
  
"Don't worry," said Phoebe in a reassuring manner, "This happens quite a bit. It usually clears itself in about 5 minutes or so."  
  
Jason made a sound of disapproval – "I called a meeting for 10" he said, And if I'm late for the meeting, I'll be late all day. I am going to speak to the building management – this can't keep happening."  
  
The other woman put her hand out, and grabbed Phoebe's. Suddenly Phoebe felt the slight dizziness that accompanied the onset of a premonition, and then she was hit with image after image, flashing through her mind at top speed, too fast for her to make any sense, but tearing at her emotions, causing her to sway on her feet, and catch her breath, trying to hold back the sobs that were building up.  
  
"Oh God, no no no," she gasped out, sinking to her knees - "Please help him – Cole I didn't mean for this to happen –" and then she was sobbing, curled up in a ball on the floor of the lift, trying to block out of her mind the terrible things she saw happening to the man she realized she still loved, even while she hated him.  
  
The woman knelt down beside her, and removed her dark glasses. She looked deeply into Phoebe's eyes, and put her hand on Phoebe's head.  
  
"I need to find him," she said to Phoebe almost apologetically – "I have to use your power of premonition. If he is still alive, he will suffer for his treachery, I will make sure of it!"  
  
As she stood up, Phoebe recognized her from before; she was the demon who had picked up Wyatt the day before. She shook her long dark hair free from the restraint, and suddenly went from being drab and unnoticeable to being beautiful. She walked over to Jason, stuck speechless against the rear wall of the lift, and reached up, kissing him passionately, then shimmered away, leaving both Jason and Phoebe shaking with fear and disbelief.  
  
Phoebe watched in horror, as Jason turned to her, his eyes wide. "What – what's going on?" he demanded, "Where – how did she get out of here? Phoebe, who was that – what was that woman? And what happened to you?"  
  
Phoebe closed her eyes in despair, there was no way she could persuade Jason that his eyes were playing tricks, and he would know that something really weird had happened – she had been compromised and Jason was a newspaper man, he would keep hunting till he knew the truth and then the whole world would know that she was a witch – She swallowed a sob remembering what had happened the last time their secret had become public – ending with the horror of Prue's death.  
  
"Are you all right Phoebe?" he said, as if from a long way away, and then again, a little sharper "Are you all right?" and she opened her eyes to find herself standing outside the lifts, in the foyer of the building.  
  
"I've got a 10 o'clock meeting," he said, "The blasted lift appears to be stuck up between the 5th and 6th floor. I am so sick of these lifts, I'm going to speak to the building management." And then looking down at her "I'm glad I ran into you out here, I wanted to see if you would come out to dinner with me tonight, before I go back to Hong Kong."  
  
Phoebe looked around in disbelief, still feeling the sobs dying away in her chest, her tears still dampening her cheeks. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, turning away from Jason so he couldn't see, trying to calm herself down. The whole scene in the lift hadn't really happened – or had it? She could still feel the tearing at her heart, still see Cole strapped to some sort of cage, being tortured, bleeding and bruised, still see the dark blue, surprisingly familiar blue eyes of the woman in the lift, peering inside her soul...  
  
The lift doors opened, and Jason stepped inside, turning around to look at her inquiringly, but she backed away.  
  
"I forgot something," she said to him, "I have to go home – I'll ring you about tonight,"  
  
"Phoebe – wait –" he called after her, but she was gone, running back through the building to her car, panic lending wings to her feet.  
  
There was no one home, when she burst through the front door of the manor, so she ran up to her room, and threw herself on the bed, still shaking from her experience in the lift. She curled up on her side, and closed her eyes, willing her heart to stop racing, and her breathing to return to normal. She knew now that the demon female was not after her, or Wyatt, but was after Cole, and that if he did come back from the Wasteland again, this female would find him out and destroy him, all over again, slowly and with relish.  
  
*****************************  
  
The demon took one step forward, growling in his throat, and grabbed Cole by the arm. "Who are you, and what are you doing in these chambers?" he demanded.  
  
Cole shook his arm free, and sent the demon flying into the rocky wall, then walked over and placing his hand on the demon's throat, picking him up and pinning him against the wall.  
  
"You don't know me, you didn't see me," said Cole, staring into the demon's eyes.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked Jael, emerging from the shadows.  
  
"Trying a little mind manipulation," replied Cole, not taking his eyes from the demon.  
  
"Well it's not working Belthazor," said the demon, struggling to break free, and finally succeeding. "What the hell are you doing here? We thought you were dead! And pretty soon, when the others come back, you will wish you were. Zaytak will pay well for your head!" Even as he spoke, he was aiming an energy ball at Cole, who dodged to one side, and watched as the energy ball hit the opposite wall.  
  
"That wasn't nice, Toben," said Cole, tossing a similar ball back at the demon, even as he was ducking. "I think it's about time to leave here." He grabbed Jael's hand, and blurred again, even as the blue and black demon lunged for him.  
  
This time he crossed over Realms and materialized in the mausoleum.  
  
Jael sat down on one of the stone caskets, putting his head in his hands. "Now they will all know we are still alive," he moaned, "And send out the Brotherhood after us. Where are we, by the way," and looked around with interest.  
  
"Toben didn't recognize you," said Cole, "They will only know I am alive. They won't be too keen to send the Brotherhood after me, and in any case, they can't track us in a cemetery; or a church for that matter. We will stay here for a while, till I figure out what we can do. I'm tired, and I need to rest, all that blurring and energy ball tossing when I haven't eaten or drunk anything in ages is very wearying." He sank down in a corner, and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he was back here, in this place – and that somewhere out there, not very far away, Phoebe was going about her daily living. That thought, more than any other, was making him feel tired and sick. 


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5  
  
When Phoebe finally heard the front door of the manor open, she went downstairs, to find Paige singing loudly to the music being played on her walkman, and energetically cleaning the sunroom windows. Paige gave a slight scream when Phoebe tapped her on the shoulder, and orbed out for a second dropping her cloth.  
  
"Oh Pheebs, - I thought you had gone to work – I thought I was alone in the house!" she said, putting a hand on her chest, and taking several deep breaths.  
  
"No, I came back, I couldn't face it." She said. "I had an awful experience in the lift – a premonition, and an encounter with that demon that was here yesterday – but then it was like it hadn't really happened."  
  
Paige made a face, and Phoebe nodded. "I know it sounds really crazy, I need to talk to you and Piper together, and I need Leo here as well. Where are they?"  
  
"Piper went to P3 and Leo went out for a walk with Wyatt – it's such a beautiful day – he was going to the park. Shall I call Piper on her mobile?"  
  
"If you don't mind," replied Phoebe. "I'll call for Leo – he should be able to orb back here with Wyatt and the pram – shouldn't he?"  
  
"I don't know," replied Paige, "Inanimate objects are a little tricky. And I don't think Piper wants Wyatt orbing, in case he remembers what to do all of a sudden, and orbs out of here! Tell you what, you ring Piper, and I'll orb to Leo, and walk back with him and baby. That way, Piper won't yell at us, and we will still be back before Piper gets here anyway!"  
  
Phoebe nodded, and picked up the receiver, while Paige disappeared in a shower of sparkling orbs.  
  
***********************************************  
  
Jael frowned at Cole, who was sitting leaning back against his father's final burial place, eyes closed.  
  
"This wasn't what I was expecting, when you got me out of the Wasteland," he said. "Not that I'm ungrateful, of course."  
  
Cole continued to be motionless, breathing deeply, almost asleep. Jael continued to frown.  
  
"I'm hungry – you must be starving. Let's go get some food, and something to drink – you know how things work here don't you?"  
  
Cole finally opened one eye, and looked at the other man. "I'm not sure if I have any money," he said faintly, feeling in his pockets. "Going through the barrier around the Wasteland has really exhausted me," he continued. "I can't remember feeling this weak the first time – but you're right, food and drink will make a big difference. Ah look what I found – I wonder if it still works," and pulled out his credit card from his back pocket.  
  
"This is money?" asked Jael, examining the plastic card curiously.  
  
"Well, yes sort of," replied Cole, climbing to his feet. "If they will accept it, we can get a hotel room, and some clean clothes and have a decent rest. Let's hope no one cancelled my bank account – I had a fair bit of money in it."  
  
"Bank Account?" asked Jael, "Is that a good thing to have?"  
  
Cole began walking up the stairs; then turned to look back at Jael. "You really don't know much about this world, do you?" he said, with a sardonic smile.  
  
Jael shook his head. "It has not been my interest," he said. "I studied our own way of life, our customs and beliefs. I never felt the need to come here – and because I wasn't one of the big physical types – like you – because my mother wasn't an important member of the Source's inner circle – like yours – I wasn't selected for the Brotherhood, so was able to take up a learning/teaching position. And damn it, I was happy there! - Why?"  
  
"Because I don't know what sort of reception we are going to get, when we walk out of here. I look – and probably smell, like a tramp, and you look like some sort of old fashioned weird-assed monk in that robe. We may have to do some shopping and clean up somewhere before any decent hotel will let us in their doors."  
  
"Well lead on, I am looking forward to seeing more of this place – in daylight, not surrounded by a coven of angry witches. And to taste some of the food, and to drink some of the alcohol, which I've heard is as good as if not better than ours."  
  
Cole smiled a little, and continued up the stairs. "Follow me then, I have been here before, and know it well. We'll find a nice hotel, and rest up for a few days – then think about our future. We can go anywhere in this realm you like – as far away from here as possible, would be a good idea. I really don't want to run into anyone I knew from before – human or demon. I'm sick of being torn in half, I'll live my own life from now on, please myself what I do, and answer to no one! And yes, - the alcohol here is a lot better than that which we're used to." 


	7. Chapter 6

Here is the next chapter – I'd like to thank those of you who are reviewing my story, as I need the feedback to keep going. So please keep reviewing – if you like my story and if you don't tell me why and I'll try to improve!  
  
CHAPTER 6  
  
By the time Piper had driven into the driveway, Leo, Paige and Wyatt were walking up to the front door.  
  
Phoebe was sitting on the couch in the sunroom, flipping aimlessly through the Book of Shadows, not really knowing what she was looking for, and trying to avoid the Belthazor page. She told the others what had happened to her, finding it hard to describe exactly how she had lived through being trapped in the lift with the demon and Jason, and yet not, looking to Leo for an explanation.  
  
"I don't know what could have happened, Phoebe," he said, scratching his head, "Maybe this demon has the ability to manipulate time – that is a very specific power, and would make for a very strong, upper level demon. But she hasn't really offered any threat yet – no wait a minute," as all three girls started talking at once – "I mean, when she attacked here – she called it off, and let's face it, she could have killed us or taken Wyatt, or both, if she had wanted to – and Phoebe, she could have hurt you or Jason in the lift – but she didn't, and in fact she rearranged time so that you weren't exposed. I just have no idea what she is after, or why she wants to read your mind – perhaps the Elders might have something by now."  
  
Piper snorted in an unladylike way, but for once did not voice her opinion of the Elders.  
  
Phoebe sat on the sofa, biting her fingernails. "I know what she's after," she said, "She wants Cole – she wants to know what happened to him. I felt that she hates him, and is looking to finish him off – she doesn't believe he is vanquished and thinks I know where he is."  
  
"But she must know he's dead," said Paige "If she's read your mind, she must know that."  
  
"She read my mind in Wyatt's bedroom first," said Phoebe, "And I was thinking then of how he escaped from the Wasteland the first time. Maybe she thinks he's done it again."  
  
"Well if he has, we don't know about it," said Piper irritably, "The guy has been out of our lives for 12 months – I can't believe that he is still causing grief. Hopefully this time, the demon bitch will believe you haven't seen him and will leave us alone. Or I, for one, will be looking to vanquish her sorry butt!"  
  
The other three stared at her. "Well," she said defensively, "She came in here, and threatened my husband and my baby – and if she wants Cole all she has to do is go to the Wasteland and see if she can find his ashes! If she bothers you again Phoebe, tell her where to go."  
  
Phoebe looked over at her older sister. "I didn't realize you hated Cole that much," she said quietly, and walked out of the room.  
  
Piper looked at Paige, and then Leo. "What," she said, "All I said was..."  
  
Paige came close to her, and put her arm around her. "Phoebe is just starting to grieve, now," she said. "And I think that maybe, we all have a little grieving to do. After all, Cole lived in this house with us for two years – and you knew him longer than that. Is that why you are being so ... so "her voice trailed off a little uncertainly.  
  
"Oh crap," said Piper, and turned to follow Phoebe.  
  
**** ****** ****  
  
Jael looked around the hotel room in approval.  
  
"This is much better than any of our inns," he said to Cole, who was sprawled out on one of the beds in the room. "Look, we can see the harbour from here. And this is great, I can turn the television set off and on with this device. There are so many different stations to watch – much better than what we get."  
  
Cole made a face, and sat up. "This is only temporary," he said. "When we've cleaned up, and rested, we can start to make plans."  
  
"I can't wait to have – what did you call it – a spa?" said Jael, playing with the remote control, and making the television change channels. "Good thing there was money still in that account."  
  
"Yes, but it wont last forever. We can only stay here for a little while. Do you want to shower first?"  
  
Jael agreed, but balked a little when Cole told him to shave off his beard. "I have been growing this for many years," he said stroking his hairy chin in affection.  
  
"Well long beards like that are usually only worn by eccentric religious people, or somebody from ZZ Top," replied Cole. "I don't want us attracting too much attention, so get rid of it."  
  
"ZZ Top?" asked Jael.  
  
"Don't ask," said Cole laying back down on the bed, and throwing an arm over his eyes. "I can't believe how exhausted I feel. Have your shower, and let me sleep."  
  
When he opened his eyes several hours later, a stranger was sitting on the sofa, avidly watching Star Wars, the Movie. He blinked several times, and then laughed as he recognized Jael – minus his long straggly beard and robes.  
  
"You look completely different," he said to Jael, swinging his long legs off the bed, and swaying a little as a bout of dizziness suddenly hit him.  
  
"About time you woke up – go and have a shower yourself, maybe you'll feel better," said the new, improved Jael, his clean- shaven face making him look years younger than before. "This is great, this movie."  
  
Cole stripped off his clothes gladly, he had been wearing them forever, and stood under the steaming water, closing his eyes in bliss as the water sluiced over his body. He had missed this.  
  
An hour later, they were sitting in a private corner in a little pasta restaurant, overlooking the harbor.  
  
"We need to find out if I can get my powers back," said Jael. "I think I have read something about the Wasteland – I am pretty sure there are some manuscripts in the main Library. Can you get us back to the Underworld again?"  
  
Cole nodded absent-mindedly – he was still feeling a little giddy and unwell, which was not something he was used to.  
  
"Let's have a few days here," he said, "When we've recuperated a bit, we'll plan a raid on the main Library. No one will expect us there – we should be able to get in and out fairly easily. Then, once you know your way around up here, I'm going to go far away from this place, and try and start a life somewhere else!"  
  
They continued their meal; oblivious to the looks they were receiving from someone sitting in the opposite corner of the restaurant.  
  
Remember – please review? 


	8. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7  
  
Phoebe made it into her office the next morning, by waiting at the elevators till there was a crowd of people, and jamming in with them. She kept looking around nervously, but no female demon was to be seen anywhere. By mid morning she had attacked and reduced the pile of mail waiting in her in box, and was feeling almost relaxed, when Elise, who had been out all morning, walked in.  
  
"This copy is really good," she told Phoebe, "I like the touch of humor that is creeping into your writing."  
  
"Oh, thanks," replied Phoebe, "I've managed to get about three issues ahead now, so I thought I'd experiment a little with my style."  
  
Elise nodded, and turned to leave, but suddenly turned back to say "By the way, you didn't tell me that your gorgeous ex-husband is back in town."  
  
Phoebe froze. "What – what- what do you mean?" she asked, her large brown eyes locking in on Elise.  
  
"I saw him yesterday, in that little pasta place by the footbridge."  
  
"You saw C...C...Cole yesterday?" stammered Phoebe again.  
  
"Yes, looking as devastatingly handsome as ever. He was having lunch with another man. I still can't understand why you threw him over."  
  
"You didn't know him very well," replied Phoebe, staring blankly at her editor, her brain unable to process this information. "But it couldn't have been Cole – he's um – he's not in town, and not coming back – not ever."  
  
"Well he did. I am sure it was your ex. Oh, by the way, the ad you did for 'Ask Phoebe' has been scheduled to appear on television tonight. It will be on two or three channels, between 8p.m and 11p.m."  
  
"The ad.? Oh that was ages ago, I'd almost forgotten it." Phoebe muttered, her mind on other things.  
  
Elise raised a skeptical eyebrow. "A few weeks ago, when the advertisement was to be aired that was all you could think about. I thought you'd be more exited! Jason approved it before he went back yesterday – he is very impressed. He said you are a natural on television!"  
  
"Whatever," replied Phoebe, gathering up her things. "I have to go home, family..."  
  
"Crisis." Finished Elise, "Yes, you seem to have them daily,"  
  
Paige raised her eyebrows when Phoebe came bursting through the door, just after the lunch hour.  
  
"What unimaginable bad thing has happened now?" she asked "Don't tell me – Cole is back and trying to get you to fall in love with him and rule in the Underworld all over again!"  
  
Phoebe whirled around to face her, her own face paler than Paige's.  
  
"How did you know?" she demanded, "How did you find out?"  
  
Paige took a step backwards. "I was joking, Phoebe," she said – "and aren't you?"  
  
"Where's Piper and Leo?" Phoebe asked, ignoring Paige "Are they here or at P3?"  
  
"They have gone out for lunch, and I am babysitting so they can have time together," replied Paige – "And I have just put Wyatt down for his afternoon sleep, so if you are going to have an hysterical overreaction, please do it quietly. Start from the beginning, and tell me what's happening!"  
  
"Elise saw Cole yesterday – in a restaurant, by the harbor!"  
  
Paige looked at Phoebe, lifting an unbelieving eyebrow. "Is she sure it was Cole?" she asked, and Phoebe nodded.  
  
"Yes, she's sure – I asked her the same thing, but she knew what she saw."  
  
"I am sure Elise thinks she saw Cole," Paige said, "But did she ever meet a certain FBI Agent when he was here? Perhaps he is still here – and was having lunch yesterday in a restaurant by the harbor."  
  
Phoebe stared into Paige's eyes for a long time, and then bit her lip uncertainly.  
  
"I never thought of that," she said slowly, "Maybe it was John Grant that Elise saw. Let's face it, I even thought he was Cole for a moment or two," and Paige couldn't help smiling at her understatement.  
  
"Cole has gone, Phoebe," she said softly, "We vanquished him, a year ago – and I know that he was the love of your life – but he did some terrible and evil things as well – and has paid with his life for doing them. You have to let him go Pheebs, and move on – I thought that you had made great strides, until we ran into that FBI Agent. You seem to have taken a big backward step since then. And even if Cole did come back – well he probably wouldn't be thinking too highly of us anyway. Let's face it we vanquished him twice – and his sanity was in question those last few months. He would probably come back stark raving mad – it doesn't bear thinking about."  
  
Phoebe nodded, and flopped into the nearest chair.  
  
"Yes, you are probably right," she said. "He was a little crazy at the end. All that power seemed to have blown a few circuits! I don't know what's wrong with me, first this female demon, and now Elise, - I am going upstairs and having a bubble bath. When I come down, I will take you out for tea. That's if you want to come with me. We will have a sister night – a single sister night – are you up for it?"  
  
Paige nodded and smiled. "Sounds great," she said happily. "Piper and Leo will appreciate having an evening to themselves, and we can go out and paint the town red – or maybe hot pink!"  
  
"Oh and we have to go somewhere where there will be a television on – my TV ad is being shown tonight – I can't miss that – I'll have to have a tape ready, so Piper can record it."  
  
And Phoebe bounced upstairs, her equilibrium restored.  
  
Paige on the other hand, went into the kitchen, and using the phone in there, called Darryl. She wanted to know for sure, if the 'man' that Elise saw was indeed the FBI Agent John Grant, or someone else. She left a message for him to call her back on her cell phone, when she learned that he was out of his office. She had suffered at the hands of her demonic ex brother in law, and had every intention of being forewarned if the impossible had happened, and he had somehow come back again.  
  
****** ******** *******  
  
Cole lay back on his bed, flicking the control at the television. Jael had gone downstairs, to the bar, with strict instructions from Cole to just sit quietly in a corner, and watch and listen to the people who came in and out. He was enjoying his time in this realm, he had never been able to come before, and was intent on learning everything he could about fitting in.  
  
Cole, however, was bored, and still feeling a little off color – feeling cold and almost shivering at times, then dizzy, at other times boiling hot. Being half demon, he had never felt sick before, and did not understand why he was feeling these things. He was very impatient with himself, knowing he had to help Jael before he could blur off by himself somewhere, away from San Francisco – away from thoughts and memories, away from Phoebe.  
  
As if conjured by his thoughts, her beautiful face suddenly appeared on the television set, and he dropped the control in surprise.  
  
At that exact moment, Jael walked into the bedroom, and opened his mouth, only to shut it quickly when Cole signaled him to be quiet. Both men watched the screen, Cole in painful memory mode, and Jael in avid curiosity, having heard so much about Phoebe, but never having seen her before.  
  
Cole watched her make love to the camera, smiling seductively, promising to solve all his problems, all he had to do was write or email her, and she would devote all her 'expertise' to helping him – it was a promise. She had all the answers! Oh – and buy the paper too, of course.  
  
He smiled a little bitterly – he liked her new, shorter hair, and definitely preferred it back to its natural color – or nearly, to the blonde highlights. He noticed, too, that she looked happy, confident and extremely sexy. He needed no other assurance that she had moved on - way beyond him, that even memories were not troubling her. It was like a knife in his heart.  
  
After a long moment, he looked up at Jael. "We will go to the library tomorrow – do you think you remember exactly where the manuscripts are?" Jael nodded, and disappeared in to the bathroom. He was enjoying the shower; it was much better than washing in basins, which is what he was used to.  
  
Cole rolled over, and lay on his side, staring at the blank wall. The pain in his heart formed into a knot that ached with a fierceness he had never known. He would help Jael tomorrow, then find somewhere he could be alone, somewhere he would never have to look over his shoulder again! Perhaps in time he would get over her – perhaps! 


	9. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8  
  
After breakfast the next morning Cole took Jael to the handi-bank and withdrew the rest of the money out of his account, explaining that he would get the rest of it now, in case someone started querying why the account was active again after a long while – he wasn't sure how his disappearance had been explained and didn't want investigators sniffing around. He divided the money between himself and Jael, in case they got separated, or something happened – and Jael accepted his half with a thoughtful look on his face. He studied the money, then put it in his newly acquired jeans pocket, and turned to watch Cole do the same.  
  
"You aren't looking too good, Cole," he said, studying his companion's face, and noticing his pallor, and the dark circles under his overly bright blue eyes. "No I feel really strange," said Cole, "I have never been like this before. It must have something to do with coming out of the Wasteland for a second time. Or maybe these powers I picked up there are slowly dying, and me along with them, who knows? It doesn't matter anyway – are you ready?"  
  
Jael nodded, and grabbed Cole's arm, as together they blurred away. They reappeared in a small dark room, with no windows and a stout door. The room was filled with books and papers, pens, all sorts of stationery. Cole looked around, impressed with himself.  
  
"This is where you wanted to come?" he asked softly. Jael nodded, and opened the door a smidge, looking out carefully.  
  
"This is the storeroom for the library," he whispered, "Or one of them, at least, the one that is used the least. If we are lucky, the other students, and the Priests are not here – the manuscript I want to look at is in this section of the library –"  
  
With a sudden jerk, he pulled the door shut, and leant back, motioning Cole to silence, as a black robed dark priest came around the corner, and walked into the section of the vast library that they needed to access. They stared at each other in the dim light, and tried to breath quietly.  
  
Cole looked around the small storeroom, and spotted what he needed. He quietly grabbed a dark robe that way hanging in the corner, and gave another to Jael, who looked at him in horror, as he donned the robe and motioned for him to do the same. Easing the door open, he folded his hands in the black material of the robe, and bowed his head, so it was hidden by the hood, and walked out into the library. Jael followed him, almost tiptoeing, his heart beating so loudly; he was surprised that Cole couldn't hear it.  
  
Without saying a word, Cole indicated to Jael to go and get the manuscript, and then he stood silently and visibly in the middle of the room, allowing Jael time to retrieve what he needed. The dark priest looked up from his reading, and closed his book, gliding towards Cole with suspicion in his dark eyes.  
  
"Do you have permission to access this area?" he demanded as he came closer. "Who are you? I haven't seen you here before?"  
  
Cole lowered his head submissively.  
  
"Well, speak up – do you have permission to be here or not?"  
  
"Yes," replied Cole, not raising his head, but looking up at the dark priest through his lashes.  
  
"Who gave you permission?" demanded the priest. "What is your name?"  
  
"Cole," replied Cole helpfully.  
  
"Cole? Strange name - I suppose you are one of Zaytak's bullyboys – His permission is not recognized here! I am the senior priest, and in charge of this library! I resent Zaytak thinking he can come here and control me. He has already caused me to lose two of my best helpers. So don't think you can come in here and presume to order me around in my own library. This is probably the most sacred site we have in this realm, and if I lose any more helpers, it will fall into decay. This is our history and should be treated with respect."  
  
By this time the old priest was almost yelling. Jael came scurrying back, with a yellowing manuscript in his arms, and the old priest whirled around to stare at him with disbelieving eyes.  
  
"Jael – is that you? – what on earth – I was told you were dead!"  
  
"Tyron – I'm sorry but I need you to forget you saw me here – I am going to borrow this manuscript, but will return it when I can!"  
  
"You can't take that out of here," said the priest, his voice becoming louder still.  
  
"I need to read it," said Jael, "I don't wish to distress you, but I need to read it now – and please don't get the attention of the guards outside – Zaytak arranged to have me vanquished – I don't want him to know I'm alive!"  
  
The old priest looked at both of them, then sighed in resignation. "I will allow you to read the manuscript," he said, "But you can't take it from here. It is very old, and will spoil if it is removed from this room. Take it to the reading bench, and I will pretend that you are studying. But while one of you reads, the other will explain to me what is going on!"  
  
Cole nodded, and he and Jael sat down at the reading bench – the dark priest looked around to make sure no one else was in the library, and then joined them.  
  
"Things have been very bad down here, for a long while now," he began, "Ever since Zaytak and his henchmen started throwing their weight around. Actually, even long before that – ever since the old Source became obsessed with ruling the other realm. That was never part of our original purpose. – A foray now and again, a little mischief making – to tempt those above who have the desire and ability to turn – maybe, not this wholehearted invasion."  
  
Cole narrowed his eyes and turned to the old demon. "I thought that was our purpose," he said bitterly. "To destroy, to hate, to ruin – that's what a demon's lot in life is."  
  
The demonic priest eyed Cole sadly. "It's what is taught to you young ones," he said softly, "But that's not how it is supposed to be. Now, what is your story?"  
  
Cole hesitated a moment, then said "We have escaped from the Wasteland –"  
  
The priest gasped a little, shaking his head. "You are both half-bloods then? Or possibly even more – No full blooded demon can survive the Wasteland. I have heard stories of escapes from there, but till now thought they were just stories. What is it you are looking for?"  
  
"To see if he can regain his powers," said Cole, indicating Jael. "He lost them coming through the barrier."  
  
"And you?" asked Tyron "You have lost your powers?"  
  
"No," replied Cole, "Not yet. I lost my mind the first time I came back though." He added a little sardonically.  
  
"The first time? You have been there and back twice?"  
  
Cole nodded.  
  
"You would have burnt away any residue of your demonic half," said Tyron slowly. "You would be fully human now."  
  
Cole nodded again. "Jael needs to see if he can restore his powers." He told the priest. "Then we will be out of here."  
  
Jael called his attention to a written passage in the manuscript, and they both read the old document.  
  
"It says my powers can't be restored, except through a spell cast by the power of three – what does that mean?"  
  
Cole bit his bottom lip thoughtfully.  
  
"I think it means the Charmed Ones," he said "And they wouldn't do it to help a demon – or half demon. Or anyone innocent or not, if they were associated with me!"  
  
"Not the Charmed Ones," said Tyron knowledgably "They are to help innocents and witches from the other realm. The power of three refers to three high level demons – any three that can agree and work together. They would have the power to return yours. The magic is in the number three. Is there a spell?"  
  
Jael nodded – and read out the spell, which was written in the old language.  
  
"I have absorbed the powers of about 20 demons, upper and lower level," said Cole thoughtfully, "What would happen, if I said the spell?"  
  
Tyron looked at him with surprise and apprehension in his dark eyes, and drew back a little from him.  
  
"I am very old, even by demonic standards," he said quietly, "And I have never known this to have happened before. That much power is dangerous, especially to someone who is now essentially human."  
  
Cole shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"I know," he said quietly, "I feel them eating away at me. But I need to help Jael before I go away – so will this work?"  
  
A commotion in the corridor caused them all to spin around, as two more priests entered the library.  
  
Tyron made a sign to the newcomers, and they came to his side, looking at Cole and Jael with curiosity in their eyes.  
  
"Master – the guards have sent us to search for you. They feel a disturbance in the air – they are coming to see if you know what is happening."  
  
Tyron turned back to Jael, and nodded, motioning the two newcomers to a far corner. He gave the manuscript to Cole, and then stood back himself.  
  
"I hope this works for you," he said and raised his hand to make the blessing sign, very similar to the one a priest in the other realm would make.  
  
"If it doesn't there is little I or my helpers and colleagues can do. Zaytak's guards are fierce, and will kill you if they find you here. And then they will probably kill us as well."  
  
Cole took a deep breath, and focused on the words, which he could barely understand. He spoke each word in a loud whisper, and as he pronounced the last word in the spell, Jael faded from sight, then returned, with a jubilant look on his face.  
  
"Now, you must pretend we overpowered you," said Cole to Tyron, who was backing away. "I am sorry, but I have to do this," and he sent an energy ball into the wall of the library, very near to where Tyron and the other priests were standing. They dived for cover, and Jael faded from sight, followed a second later by Cole. 


	10. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9  
  
Piper came downstairs the next morning, a little bit anxiously for Wyatt was not in his room. She found Phoebe curled up on the sofa in the lounge room, with Wyatt cuddled up next to her, and laughing in delight at the television. "Did you have a sleep in?" Phoebe asked brightly. "I heard Wyatt talking to himself, and thought I'd bring him down here and let you have an extra hour."  
  
"Thank you sis," said Piper, tying her long hair back into a ponytail. "Has he had his breakfast?"  
  
She walked into the kitchen, and took in the spilled milk, the bowl of breakfast cereal half tipped over the table and nodded. "I can see that he has," she answered herself.  
  
"Oh I'll clean it up," said Phoebe, "Wyatt just wanted to see his Aunty Phoebe on television. Thanks for taping the ad – what do you think?"  
  
"You look beautiful, as if you didn't know," said Piper, "I think it will lift your ratings."  
  
"I just wonder if it's the right thing to do – I mean it makes me pretty high profile – I hope it won't make it easier for the nasties and the weirdos to find us!"  
  
"Well they haven't had much trouble finding us so far," replied Piper, filling the kettle, and turning it on.  
  
"And it's your writing that is being advertised, not your witchcraft."  
  
"True," replied Phoebe happily 'Oh – hang on I'll get it," and she grabbed the phone as it started to ring.  
  
"Hello Darryl," she said into the mouthpiece, then "Hang on – I'll see if she's up yet."  
  
"Paige!" she called, and Paige opened her door upstairs. "What?"  
  
"Darryl's on the phone – he wants to talk to you."  
  
"O.k. hang up and I'll get it up here," she called, so Phoebe did so, and then looked at Piper.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked idly, sitting down at the table, watching Piper clean up the spilled breakfast cereal.  
  
"I don't know," replied Piper, wiping the table clean, and turning on the toaster. "Paige is being very industrious lately. She probably wants to know if anything strange has been happening. You know, forewarned is forearmed. She is writing potions and practicing spells constantly. Do you want coffee?"  
  
Upstairs, Paige found herself staring down at the receiver in her hand in dismay. Darryl had just told her that FBI Agent John Grant had returned to Atlanta the day after she had met him last week, and had not returned to San Francisco since then. Darryl knew this because he had just been speaking to him on the phone. Paige had a sinking feeling in her stomach, she was wondering just who Elise had seen dining in the little waterfront restaurant yesterday.  
  
By the time she went downstairs, order had been restored in the kitchen, and Piper and Phoebe were drinking coffee, watching Wyatt play in the corner with his blocks.  
  
"What alarming news did Darryl have?" asked Phoebe in her bubbly manner, "Any unsolved strange happenings?"  
  
"No," replied Paige, turning her back on her sisters, and pouring herself a coffee. "Just touching base, so to speak, and keeping me informed." She put on her own bright smile, as she turned back to her sisters, and sat down at the table. Piper smiled at her and turned to Phoebe.  
  
"See," she said, "I told you Paige was turning into super witch. Keeping ahead of what's happening."  
  
She put her own cup in the sink, and picked up Wyatt, twirling around with him a few times, till he chuckled.  
  
"I'm going to give my son a bath, and then wake up my husband. I think it's time that he fixed up the back screen door."  
  
"I'm going to have a bath after Wyatt's finished," said Phoebe, sipping her coffee. "It's Saturday, and I intend to do nothing as long as I can. I really enjoyed last night, Paige, we will have to do it again."  
  
Paige nodded, and smiled brightly at her sister. She was not going to say anything yet, to Phoebe, because it was always hard to know which way her sister would react, but she would be vigilant, and start to stock pile certain vanquish potions.  
  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Jael reappeared in the hotel room, only to find that Cole had beaten him back.  
  
"Oh wow, thanks so much," he told Cole, "It is a very frightening experience to lose your powers."  
  
"Oh, don't worry, I know," replied Cole, as he sank down onto the sofa. "What were your other powers? You'd better see if you have regained them as well."  
  
Jael nodded. "My other power was invisibility," he said, "I never developed a lethal power – I never wanted one, either."  
  
As he faded from sight, there was a sudden rush of air into the room, and three men appeared, and without a word, two of them launched into an attack on Cole, throwing energy balls. One threw an atheme, which thudded into Cole's side, hitting a rib, and causing him to sink sideways, and straight into an energy ball.  
  
The third person suddenly morphed into his demonic shape, and threw a slender chain of unusual design around Cole's neck. The slashing wound in his side, which had started to repair itself, stopped healing, and blood began pouring out. Cole looked down in surprise, raised a hand to form an energy ball, and found he couldn't move.  
  
"Well, Belthazor, we meet again – this time the surprise is on me," said the demon, with the blue tribal markings. "You should never have returned to our world – we followed your shimmer back here."  
  
"Toben, how nice of you to drop by," said Cole, breathing a little heavily, he was experiencing waves of pain from the knife wound, and the chain tightening around his neck was like a huge and heavy weight.  
  
"Don't try and struggle," said Toben, "The torc around your neck has a magic blocking force. Zaytak had it forged especially for his enemies. You will wear it around your neck, when you crawl to him on your knees."  
  
"Oh yeah, that's going to happen," said Cole, "Besides, as far as I can remember, no one made Zaytak the leader." He was on his feet now, swaying a little in pain and shock.  
  
"Oh we have made Zaytak our leader," replied Toben – "Those of us of the Upper Level that are left, after your disastrous but mercifully short stint as The Source. Most of us have issues with you – Zaytak will make you pay – for your betrayal of us all."  
  
Cole opened his mouth to reply, but was cut short by the other two who had also morphed into their demonic form. One came up behind him, and hit him savagely across the back of the head.  
  
"Take him," said Toben, "We will return to the Underworld, Zaytak will be pleased."  
  
And in a shimmer, they were gone, taking Cole with them. 


	11. Chapter 10

I want to thank those kind people for reviewing. I just wish more of you would!  
  
CHAPTER 10  
  
Leo raised his hammer, and swatted at the nail protruding from the doorframe. Just as he was about to hit the nail, the very air around him seemed for a moment to fold in on itself, and then bulge. The hammer in his hand missed its target, and clipped his thumb. He gave a howl, and dropped his tools, sticking his thumb in his mouth, and Piper put her head around the corner, and burst out laughing.  
  
"You look just like Wyatt, sucking your thumb like that," she said, when she could talk.  
  
"You can laugh," he muttered, inspecting his wounded thumb, "But it hurt."  
  
"Oh here, let me see, I'll kiss it better for you," said Piper playfully. "Clumsy, clumsy,"  
  
"Well I was distracted," said Leo, "Is Paige casting spells?"  
  
"No, I don't think so," replied Piper, holding his hand, and rubbing her thumb over his. "Why?"  
  
"Didn't you feel it?"  
  
"Feel what?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him.  
  
"It was like – a disturbance – in the air,"  
  
"Oh, a disturbance in the Force, you mean?"  
  
"Yes," replied Leo, "Could you feel it?"  
  
"No Obe Wan Kanobe, I didn't feel anything. I told you not to stay up late watching that Star Wars marathon the other night."  
  
Leo pulled his hand away. "O.K. – laugh at me – I felt something. It wasn't the Elders – but they may know..."  
  
"Oh no you don't buster," said Piper "No orbing out of here when you don't have to. Today I want you to spend with us – don't go chasing trouble. The disturbance in the 'Force', may not have anything to do with us."  
  
At that moment, they heard a piercing scream from inside the house, and they both turned and ran through the kitchen, into the passage, then up the stairs, colliding with Paige outside the main bathroom door.  
  
"Phoebe, what is it, what's happening," yelled Piper, hammering on the door. "Help, Leo, Oh Leo – "was all they could hear, "LEO!"  
  
After only a second's hesitation, Leo put his shoulder to the door, and thrust his way into the bathroom, closely followed by Piper and Paige.  
  
Phoebe was crouched in the corner of the bathtub, barely covered by a wet towel, pointing in horror at the wall.  
  
"What's happened sweetie, what's the matter?" asked Paige urgently, as Leo and Piper looked around for intruders of the demonic kind.  
  
"Get rid of it, please, get it out of here!" stammered Phoebe, pointing at a large black spider crawling up the opposite wall.  
  
"Oh Phoebe, don't tell me you scared us all silly over a spider?" demanded Piper. Phoebe drew herself up indignantly.  
  
"It was on my hand - It crawled out of the towel, onto my hand!" she said in explanation. "It was on my hand. Oh yuk, I can still feel it. You know I hate spiders," she said to Piper, shivering with revulsion. "It was on my hand! ON MY HAND!"  
  
"So you are saying, it was on your hand?" asked Paige, innocently, and Piper rolled her eyes and made to swat her on the shoulder. Leo trapped the spider in a glass, and left the bathroom, Paige and Piper following behind, Paige laughing a little, and Piper exasperated.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Jael stood very still, in the corner of the room, breathing very fast, still shaken by the way in which Cole had been overpowered and taken. It had happened so fast he had been glued to the wall, cloaked by his invisibility. He stood that way for a long time, before re-materializing and approaching the sofa, where Cole had been sitting. There was a large bloodstain on the cream seat, and also on the floor. There was also a scorch mark on the wall and one on the sofa, near the blood. Jael looked at the stain wondering what to do. He knew he should be doing something; Cole had saved his life, and helped him at the expense of his own, however at the moment his mind was blank. The only people he knew were the keepers and priests at the library, and it was clearly unsafe to return there, besides which, they were not fighters. The guards had obviously tracked his shimmer back to the hotel, thinking it was Cole's, and maybe they didn't know about him, but Toben had seen him once, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself again. He cursed himself for being a coward, but couldn't think of anything to do. He sat down in the chair by the window, away from the bloody sofa, and put his head in his hands.  
  
He did not see, nor did he feel the woman shimmer into the room, until she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, he looked up quickly and she was standing above him.  
  
His heart accelerated into his throat, and fear swept though him in a flood. He started to fade, but her fingers dug into his shoulder, and she shook her head. "Don't try and hide from me, Librarian," she said in a soft, but very firm voice.  
  
"Where is he – where is Belthazor?"  
  
"Your side has already got him," said Jael bitterly. "They overpowered him with some sort of chain they put around his neck. I suppose you came for me?"  
  
The woman looked at him steadily, and finally he looked up at her and gasped. "Zoranne – I didn't recognize you! Everyone thought you were dead – vanquished a long time ago – even Cole – I mean Belthazor thought you were gone."  
  
"Did he really," the woman replied dryly "That would explain why he never bothered to look for me then."  
  
"The Source had everyone informed of your demise. Raynor said he saw it happen, he saw those English witches vanquish you."  
  
"Really?" she said again, and pursed her lips in disgust. "Well Raynor has a lot to answer for – it was his cowardice that caused our confrontation with that particular coven – and if he had bothered to stay around to help, or even come back, he would have realized that I was only captured, not killed."  
  
"Raynor's dead," said Jael "Cole – I mean Belthazor – killed him."  
  
"You can call my son Cole, if that's easier for you," said the demoness, walking back across the room. "I believe that Belthazor is no more, anyway. I had heard about all the happenings – my son being sent by the Triad to kill the Charmed Ones, and ending up killing them instead.. I heard it all, how he married the witch – was used by the Seer – how a lot of the upper level population was decimated, when she was destroyed – Even how he came back from the Wasteland – obviously he's done that twice now, with more power than had ever been seen before."  
  
Jael nodded – "Is there anyway we can rescue him?" he asked hesitantly. "He saved my life, and doesn't deserve to be a trophy for Zaytak to parade around."  
  
Zoranne sat down at the small table. She looked at Jael, and then suddenly dropped her head into her hands.  
  
"I have been searching for him, since I got back," she told Jael. "I could not believe he had been vanquished. Then I heard about the witch, and I paid her several visits. I had to see if the baby that is in that house was Cole's, if somehow he had survived. And I had to see if the witch loved Cole, or if she hated him now. – "She lifted her head, and Jael got the impression of tears – but from someone like Zoranne that would be impossible.  
  
"If I had felt that she did not love my son, she would be dead. Even now, months after she believes him to be vanquished, her heart aches. That is why she is still alive. However, I will deal with her and her family of witches, when I have Cole safe. Even so, they will pay for any hurt he has taken. Are you willing to help me, Librarian? Will you walk through the fire with me, to rescue my son?"  
  
"Yes," he said "For he saved my life in the Wasteland, and helped me regain my powers – and he was also a friend to me, not only lately, but many years ago, when we were young. He saved me from many a beating."  
  
"I thought I recognized you," said the seductress, narrowing her eyes. "You were often hanging around with Belth – I mean Cole. How is it he came through the Barrier, not once, but twice?"  
  
"He found a way to absorb the powers of the demons that were vanquished. But there is something wrong, this time – he says he feels like the powers he acquired in the Wasteland are slowly eating him from the inside out. The first time he came back, he said he went crazy, this time the powers are not affecting his mind, but are destroying his body. He is sick – like a human gets sick, and although he had tried to hide it from me, he is a lot weaker than he is used to being. I don't think he will survive very long, in Zaytak's tender care. I don't think, if they vanquish him, he will survive another trip through the Barrier!"  
  
"Zaytak would know not to send him to the Wasteland again. He would use an atheme, he would make sure this time. I guess I'd better see what assistance I can get – and go a rescue my son."  
  
She shimmered out of the room, them a moment later back into view.  
  
"Are you coming?" she asked, and Jael followed. 


	12. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11  
  
He was back in the Underworld. He could tell by the sulphuric smell that hovered in the thick bitter air, and the cold that struck at him through the jeans and shirt he was wearing. He opened his eyes and looked around, he found himself in some sort of cage, open on all sides, and placed in the middle of the biggest meeting hall.  
  
His head was hurting, but more painful than that, was the still oozing wound in his side, and even more painful again than that, was the sense of failure again, that he would never break free, and be able to live a life of his choosing.  
  
He heard footsteps approach the cage, and closed his eyes again, but not before Zaytak, a large demon who displayed very similar red tribal markings to those of Belthazor, came into the range of his vision, followed by several of his followers.  
  
"Don't pretend you are still unconscious, Belthazor," growled the large demon, walking up to the cage, and grabbing the bars, glaring down at him with eyes that glowed red.  
  
"I wasn't" replied Cole, painfully clambering to his feet. "I was trying to ignore you."  
  
One or two of the demons sniggered, and Zaytak swung around, growling. "Don't be too smart," he said, "And I don't want to look at your human form, stop using that particular glamour, and morph back into a more acceptable sight."  
  
"No," replied Cole, with an amused twist to his mouth. "That won't be happening."  
  
"You half breed bastard, you are finished," snarled Zaytak, "The meeting starts in a couple of hours, and when I have been declared the new Source, you will be my first public execution."  
  
"If I have to listen to your speeches first?" asked Cole mildly, "I'll die of boredom long before you can kill me. You always were a boring windbag. Besides which, no Grimore –no Source! You will always only be a pretender."  
  
Zaytak snarled again, and made to open the cage, stopping only when two of his minions grabbed his arms.  
  
"We don't have time," said Toben, "You must prepare for your entrance and speech. He will pay soon enough for his arrogance!"  
  
Cole sat back down on the floor of the cage, looking up at the group in barely concealed amusement. "Oh gosh, I'm really scared," he said, not bothering to conceal the laughter in his voice. "When are you going to realize that I want to die. You are doing me a favor!"  
  
Zaytak smiled himself, and turned to Toben. "Get Kahli – she might like to see if she can heal that wound in his side. I want him nice and healthy, when I cut his throat. And Kahli might like the opportunity to spend some time with Belthazor. She remembers him from his time as the Source."  
  
Cole leaned back on the bars of the cage, and closed his eyes. He couldn't remember anyone called Kahli, but then, he had only been present in a very small way, when the Source had possessed his body. He put one hand up to tug very slightly on the torc around his neck. It felt tight, and heavy, but it was just one more thing he would have to put up with.  
  
He heard the group move away, and tried to maintain his equilibrium. He refused to panic, though he hated to admit it, he felt naked without his powers – naked and helpless, and maybe even a little bit scared.  
  
More footsteps signaled the arrival of someone else. He didn't bother to move, but couldn't help tensing slightly and he despised himself for doing so. He heard the sound of the door being opened, and then felt someone beside him.  
  
"Well, how the mighty have fallen," she said, in a breathless and musical voice – a voice that shattered what self control he had, Phoebe's voice, and his eyes flew open to look. For a moment he even believed it was she, standing above him, gloating, hating him, just as he remembered. But then her features distorted, her hair grew long and turned red, and her eyes changed from brown to purple.  
  
"This is what I really look like," she said in a different voice. "But you didn't care – you wanted me – you wanted all of us to look like the witch. You killed my sister, and all she ever did was want to please you. And now we are all going to watch you die!"  
  
"I'm sorry," said Cole, "But it wasn't me." And he closed his eyes, and turned his face away. The female grabbed his chin, and wrenched his face back towards her. "How pathetic you've become," she sneered. "It was you."  
  
Cole looked into her eyes, and smiled a little, which only made her more furious. She made a sign, and Toben came over asking her what she wanted.  
  
"Zaytak wants him healed?" she asked, "I need a bench in here, and you to help me 'persuade' him to lie still on it. I want to examine him very thoroughly first. And he probably won't like my methods. He may find them painful and humiliating."  
  
Cole stood up suddenly. "I don't think that will be happening," he said. "The knife wound is not serious, anyway! I'm sure I won't bleed to death before Zaytak can kill me. – Unless from the ears, of course, after being forced to listen to his pompous outpourings."  
  
Toben growled, deep in his throat.  
  
"We can make that wound deeper, more serious," he said angrily.  
  
Cole laughed at him. "Aren't you the loyal hound, now," he said. "I don't think your master would like it if you did something that he told you not to. And – didn't he tell you that he wants me healthy when he kills me? Pity, Toben, you and I could have gone a few rounds, and you could have seen if you could have finally beaten me in hand to hand combat.. Because – you never could before!"  
  
The other demon grabbed the cage, and rattled the bars in anger.  
  
"You talk too much, Belthazor, you always did! And unless you morph back into your demonic form, there is no way you could beat me in a fight! Your pathetic human half is way to puny to even land a blow."  
  
"Well you are obviously too scared of Zaytak to find out," sneered Cole, raising an eyebrow in distain, and he turned his back on Toben, leaning casually against the bars of the cage. It was too much for the other demon to take, he wrested open the door, and sprang inside.  
  
Cole swung around and hit him with the side of his hand, in a chopping motion across his throat, and Toben gagged and sank to one knee, but was up in a second and with a mighty roundhouse punch, sent Cole smashing into the side of the cage, where he crumpled on to the ground.  
  
As consciousness receeded in waves, Cole grinned up at Toben.  
  
"You couldn't beat Belthazor," he whispered, "Even in this form, I knocked you off your feet – you are pathetic really,"  
  
Toben growled again, and dragged Cole to his feet, only to smash him down again.  
  
The darklighter stepped between Toben and Cole, who lay motionless on the floor.  
  
"Zaytak needs you – the meeting is about to start. He will be furious if you damage the traitor. He needs to be able to display him properly, and will want Belthazor to kneel before him."  
  
"Heal him then," Toben growled, "Be quick about it, Darklighter" "I was going to exact some revenge myself," she said, glaring at the demon, "I wanted to humiliate him, the way he humiliated me."  
  
"Well heal him, and do it," said the demon, "But be quick about it, Zaytak will need us both on the platform with him soon."  
  
The female darklighter scowled; there was no fun in tormenting someone who was unconscious. She called for a minion to bring buckets of water, and rags to clean the blood, and then leant over Cole's body, placing her hands over the now bleeding wound, which had opened right up, and concentrating on healing it, much as Leo did to his charges. To her dismay, though she concentrated all her power, the wound did not heal.  
  
Just as Leo could not heal a demon, Kahli, the darklighter, was unable to heal someone who was essentially human.  
  
Toben re- entered the cage, and grabbed her by the shoulder.  
  
"What is going on?" he demanded. "Zaytak will want him awake, frightened and begging for his life! It will be no good, if he isn't cowering on his knees! Heal him now!"  
  
"I am trying," she snapped back. "There is something wrong – maybe the torc around his neck is blocking my magic as well as his!"  
  
"Well we can't take it off – he would destroy us all! Keep trying – I will talk to Zaytak."  
  
Kahli leaned back on her heels, and looked into Cole's face. She noticed that his skin was very pale, and covered with a light sheen of perspiration, even though the air was cold, and that he was breathing in shallow gasps. She felt a rush of fear, if he died before Zaytak could ritualistically sacrifice him, her own life would be forfeit.  
  
***************************************************  
  
Jael was drawn along with Zoranne as she shimmered. They materialiszed in the Underworld, not in the caverns, but in a hut, very near to the school where he had taught and been taught. There were two other demons sitting around a table, one was reading, the other throwing two dice into the air, and watching them fall. They both rose to their feet, when Zoranne shimmered in, with Jael close behind.  
  
Jael recognized both of them, they were quite infamous – Tems was one of the previous Source's main assassins and Boraz was a sorcerer. They had both been thought of as dead, along with Zoranne, who had also been one of the Source's top assassins, for many years, when an attempt to take over the continental Underworld had gone sadly amiss.  
  
"Zaytak has my son," she said to the older demons. "He is going to use him in some way to further his pretensions I would imagine; we must stop him. He will try and have himself proclaimed Source, we can't let that happen."  
  
"Does he have support?" asked Tems, a large red skinned demon with black and blue tribal markings.  
  
"He has been throwing his weight around for a while now," replied Jael. "He has his own private army of about 40 or so, who go around and bully the rest of us."  
  
"He cannot be proclaimed Source," said the sorcerer, Boraz, in his deep voice. He dropped back the hood on his cloak, to reveal a handsome face with stern dark eyes, and black hair, flecked with gray. "There is no Grimore! That has been lost, and with it the power to rule absolutely."  
  
"Zaytak is saying that the Grimore should no longer be considered necessary to the proclamation of the Source," said Jael, "That whoever is strong enough, should rule absolutely, and that he can reunite the Underworld and have it strong enough in very short time, to challenge the other realms."  
  
"He is an idiot." exclaimed Zoranne, "But a dangerous one. The last Source had too much fascination for the human world – especially in the last hundred years or so, and look what it cost him. We do need a strong leader, but not someone who thinks like Zaytak. At this stage, however, I don't care – we need a plan to rescue my son."  
  
"Perhaps we need to go and do a quick check, and see what's happening," said the sorcerer in his solemn manner, raising his eyebrows and looking at the large demon.  
  
The two older males shimmered out of the hut, and Zoranne sat down on the chair. Jael looked around, peering out of the window at the somber background of the large building, seemingly carved from the rocky slopes that surrounded it. The school where the young of the Underworld were sent was a gloomy looking place that made Jael shiver when he remembered his time as a student there.  
  
It seemed like ages later, that the air shimmered slightly and the two demons reappeared. The sorcerer approached the table, and sat opposite Zoranne. "Bad news, I'm afraid. Belthazor has been injured, and they have called for a darklighter. She seems unable to heal him. Tems and I got close enough to listen to what she was saying – evidently his human half will not be healed. They are saying he will not live to be part of Zaytak's 'show'."  
  
"Toben, Zaytak's so called deputy, would not allow her to remove the blocking agent they had around his neck, so he could heal himself, either. Evidently his power scares even that lot," added Tems gloomily. "They think he needs a whitelighter."  
  
"Well," said Zoranne, standing up, "Let's go and get one." 


	13. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12  
  
Paige was sitting in the swing chair on the back porch, lazily flicking through a magazine, and pushing herself back and forth with one foot. She wound a thick strand of hair around her finger and let her thoughts drift She was missing Glen, she hadn't seen or heard from him for a long time, since she had nearly caused his marriage to be a disaster.  
  
She looked up in time to see a woman materialize in front of her, in the yard, and then heard the alarm from inside the house. It was the first time her 'demon warning bell' had sounded since she had set it up. Because she was the only one at home, she eyed the distance between the back door, and the strange female, wondering if she would have time to dash inside and lock the door – but even as she glanced back, her eyes were caught by the beautiful blue one's of the demoness, and her panic subsided as she relaxed. She didn't move as three other figures shimmered into the yard, to stand behind the first.  
  
"Don't be afraid of us," the woman said. "I need your help – but I am not here to hurt you."  
  
Paige said nothing, still staring at the woman. "My name is – my human name is Elizabeth," said the woman – "Where are your sisters?"  
  
Paige finally blinked, and found she wasn't worried or panicked by the appearance of these demons.  
  
"Are you using some sort of spell on me?" she asked. "I feel way too calm – this is not normal."  
  
"No," replied the female called Elizabeth, "Not any more. But please remain calm – we have no intention of hurting either you or your sisters. I just need your help."  
  
"My sisters will be back soon – But they will not help demons. We only help the innocent."  
  
"So you are saying that there are no innocent demons?" said the handsome older man, standing behind. "I think your reasoning a little strange."  
  
Paige glared at the group. "My reasoning is perfectly sound, thank you," she said. "We will not help demons."  
  
"And yet, you say you help the innocent?" the man queried. "We need you to help us with a human, and with an innocent."  
  
"Oh," she said, looking thoughtful. "What do you want, then, and I will go and see my sisters."  
  
"There is someone who is trapped in the Underworld, by magic – someone who needs healing and freeing from a nasty situation. We need your help to free him."  
  
"Wait here then, and I will talk to my sisters." said Paige, and orbed away.  
  
***************************  
  
"So you left then in our back yard?" asked Piper, raising her voice and her eyebrows at the same time. "In Our Back yard?"  
  
She and Phoebe had been shopping together, something they hadn't done for a while, and enjoying themselves, when Paige came up behind them as they were leaving a shop. Paige nodded, and shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"They were not threatening," she said – "They asked for help – but I got no feeling of fear or intimidation from them. I think we should listen to what they say."  
  
Piper picked up her shopping bags, and headed towards the car park.  
  
"Leo!" she called, as she went, the other two following. "LEO!"  
  
"We can't help demons, Paige," said Phoebe, trailing along behind. "Only innocents – and I haven't had any premonitions lately."  
  
"We should at least listen to what they say," said Paige  
  
"We can't work with demons," said Phoebe again. "We have tried before, and it always ends badly."  
  
They all piled into the SUV, and Piper headed back towards the Manor, with Phoebe still reiterating that it was impossible for them to help demons, for any reason.  
  
When they arrived at the manor, Leo orbed in ahead of them, and as they walked through the front door, he turned to ask what the emergency was. He had Wyatt strapped to his back in a child sling, and Piper picked the baby up, and cuddled him close.  
  
'What's going on?" he asked, as the girls headed to the back door.  
  
Paige explained that there were some people/demons outside, who had requested their help, and they all jumped a little when Piper opened the door, and found the yard empty.  
  
Both Phoebe and Piper turned and looked at Paige. "What?" she said, looking back at them. "They were here, do you think I would make something up like that?"  
  
Piper turned back into the kitchen, placing Wyatt on the floor to crawl around, while she started to unpack the shopping bags. Phoebe perched herself on the bench, watching, while Paige started to walk up the stairs, heading for her bedroom, when the front doorbell rang.  
  
Paige jumped down the stairs, and flounced to the front door, jumping back in surprise when she opened it, for standing there was the female she knew as Elizabeth, and the other three males.  
  
"We thought we would come to the door, like ordinary people," said Elizabeth.  
  
Phoebe and Piper had strolled into the hallway, behind Paige, and Leo had stuck his head around the corner, to see who was there. Phoebe cried out, and backed away quickly, recognizing Elizabeth as being the same person who picked up Wyatt, and cornered her in the lift, while Piper and Paige both made a quick lunge to shut the door, but with a quick motion the four Other World visitors stepped into the house.  
  
Piper flung up her hand, but only two of the males froze. She made to blow up the female, but was caught first by the expression in her eyes, and slowly lowered her hand.  
  
"I mean you no harm," said Elizabeth calmly, "Neither do my friends. We are here to ask for your help, and nothing more. If you don't wish to assist us, then we will leave."  
  
For a tense moment, everyone started at one another. Then the freeze wore off Tems and Jael, and Leo entered the room, going to stand next to his wife.  
  
"Say what you need to say, then leave," he said bluntly. "We will not help demons!"  
  
"I have heard much about the Charmed Ones," said the Sorcerer Boraz, walking forward. He had been unaffected by Piper's freeze, and now came to stand next to Elizabeth, face to face with Leo. "I have heard that you are narrow minded, and quick to violence. I see now that it is true."  
  
All three witches drew sharp breaths of indignation.  
  
"That is not true," yelled Paige, clenching her fists. "We are the good guys around here!"  
  
"Narrow minded!" exclaimed Piper, at the same time, "I don't think so!"  
  
"Quick to violence!" screamed Phoebe, "As if ".  
  
"My son is injured, and being held in the Underworld," said Elizabeth. "He has been captured, to be used as a ritual sacrifice, so that someone may prove to the rest that he is fit to be leader. It would be in your interests to help us foil this, for if Zaytak takes control, he will very quickly organize the Underworld and once again it will become a threat to you, and all people."  
  
"Is your son a demon?" demanded Piper, with narrowed eyes, still standing with her arms folded across her chest, in a defensive position.  
  
"Not any more," replied Elizabeth, with a look of sorrow in her eyes. She looked across at Phoebe as she spoke, and Phoebe fidgeted nervously.  
  
"You don't know who I am, do you?" she asked, almost gently.  
  
"No," replied Phoebe blankly, "Who are you?"  
  
"If circumstances were different, I guess you could say, I would be your mother-in-law!" came the surprising reply, and the three just goggled at her.  
  
Phoebe took several shaky steps backwards, and sank into a convenient chair.  
  
"No, no, no," she said softly, "We vanquished him – we vanquished him for good."  
  
"For good?" asked Elizabeth, "Or for your own reasons?"  
  
"He was trying to turn me evil," Phoebe jumped up, and yelled. "I couldn't go there again. He threatened me he threatened my family. I can't cope with Cole being back – not again!"  
  
The younger of the two male demons stepped forward, and said in a hesitant voice - "Cole rescued me from the Wasteland. He only got captured because he was helping me. He was very ashamed about his behavior, and was willing to die in the Wasteland till I needed his help. He was only staying around here, till I became accustomed to humans – then he intended to leave, go somewhere far away."  
  
Phoebe tossed her head. "He would have tried to get to me somehow," she said, all traces of the softness she had once possessed gone.  
  
"No, he would not," said Jael, more assertively than before. "He was suffering from some sort of weakness anyway, and had no intention of coming near you."  
  
Her flare of temper over, Phoebe sat back down, biting her thumbnail.  
  
Leo frowned. "He was self healing – his power immense. He should not have been suffering from anything. Surely no prison, here or in the Underworld would hold him."  
  
"His power was lessening, the second trip through the Barrier took an awful lot of his strength, and he was carrying me. Zaytak and his followers have put a chain around his neck, a torc that blocks his magic, anyway." Jael turned back to face his companions. "They are not going to help," he said in disgust. "We need to go now, and see what we can do. They are too stuck in their short sighted ways."  
  
Elizabeth nodded, and turned to leave.  
  
"I said we will not harm you, and we won't," she said. "But I see now coming here was a mistake. You girls came late to your powers, and have not had enough time to see that not everything is black and white, that there are many shades of gray. There are many citizens of the Underworld who are harmless and loving creatures, just as there are few races as intentionally cruel as humans. Just because someone is human, it does not automatically make them an innocent, and just because someone is of demon blood, that does not make them evil. Perhaps you should all study the magical realm a lot more, then maybe your title as Champions of the Innocent would be better deserved."  
  
Piper stepped forward, and put up her hand. "Just a minute," she said. "We – we need to talk for a moment. Would you wait outside?"  
  
"For a moment," replied the larger of the two men. "I don't believe we have much time." He turned to Elizabeth, frowning. "Zaytak will be pushing for the ceremony to take place," he said. "I think we should go."  
  
Paige, who had followed the whole argument with wide eyes, put her hand on Phoebe's shoulder. "We will just take a minute," she snapped, and shut the door on the Underworld envoy.  
  
Phoebe surged out of the chair, and across the room.  
  
"We can't help them – we can't", she said, "I loved Cole so much, but I can't go there again!"  
  
Piper looked over at her husband. "Leo?" she asked "What do you think – and I mean you – not the Elders, what do You think?"  
  
"I believe the demon called Zaytak has a following which is gathering strength," said Leo, "And that he is a nasty piece of work. I don't know about the rest of it. If she is Cole's mother, where has she been all this time? And wouldn't she be angry that you vanquished him? It may be a trap."  
  
Piper uncrossed her arms, and pulled the door open. "I have some questions," she said to the four waiting there.  
  
"Why is this the first time we have seen you?" she asked Elizabeth. "Surely you would have been upset when we vanquished Cole, the first time. And didn't you kill Benjamin Turner, his father, anyway? I don't know how you can stand there spouting about how bad we are, when you have a very long history of darkness."  
  
Elizabeth looked down at the ground, then back up into Piper's eyes with anger highlighting her own.  
  
"I have been held in what amounts to a state of suspended animation, for many years – in a cavern in the highlands of Scotland – along with these two. I escaped only a short time ago, and came back looking for Beltha – I mean Cole. As for my husband – I was in love with him, and hiding from the Source. I thought I could have it all, a happy family, a baby, a husband that loved me – but then Raynor found me, and told me if I returned to the Underworld, if I returned to the Source and took the baby with me, he would let Benjamin live. I had to make Benjamin think I had turned. I knocked him out with a low voltage energy ball, and grabbed Cole, and returned to my own world. Little did I know that Raynor went back, and killed Benjamin. I only found out much later. I paid greatly for my disobedience – and so did Cole, though he was only a baby. The punishment made me, and him, very strong. That is all I am prepared to tell you. Make your decision now; Cole is in danger, and possibly dying. You are a mother – you would know what I am feeling. Don't think it is only humans who love their offspring. I could have killed you – all of you, and taken your baby, but I didn't. Choose now, as we are going. My son does not have much time. It may already be too late."  
  
Phoebe brushed away the tears that had formed in her eyes, as she listened to the story, told bluntly, about Cole's life. She stood next to Piper, and took her arm.  
  
"What do you think?" she asked softly.  
  
Piper squeezed her hand, and looked at Paige, with raised eyebrows. Leo shrugged his shoulders, and nodded to his wife.  
  
"Cole saved my life many times," she said, "Let's go and save his." 


	14. Chapter 13

Thanks everyone, for your kind reviews. Keep them coming!  
  
CHAPTER 13  
  
Cole was slipping in an out of consciousness, sometimes aware of what was happening around him, and sometimes not. He heard the gathering of many persons, of footsteps filing past his cage, and of the grunts and whispers of those who stared at him in his state of weakness, but it didn't really seem real. He heard the rising of voices, the saying of the ritualistic prayers, the intoning and chanting of choruses, sometimes loud, sometimes as if coming from far away.  
  
He opened his eyes, and saw demons of all shapes and sizes, some in human form, some not, standing around, their backs towards him, turned to face the elevated platform on which Zaytak and his main supporters were standing. He closed his eyes, then opened them again and saw Phoebe, swathed in a black robe and hood, standing not two feet away from the cage. He wondered why Khali would bother to appear in that particular glamour, and closed his eyes again.  
  
He then heard a loud commotion, and opened his eyes again, to see Paige and Leo standing over him. Once again, he closed his eyes, not believing or caring that what he saw was real. Then it was if he was flying, and white, blue and gold lights swirled around him in and out of his body, and when he opened his eyes again, he was lying on something soft, in a room he knew he should recognize, but that wasn't important to him at the moment, so he closed his eyes again.  
  
++++++++++ +++++++++++++  
  
Their plan was simple, create a diversion, and orb Cole out of the Underworld. It involved a lot of trust, particularly by Piper and Phoebe, as they would have to shimmer back with one of the demons. They had no time to refine their plan, and were amazed at how simple it was, and how effectively it worked.  
  
Jael was to keep close to Phoebe, Tems, Boraz, Elizabeth and Piper were to create a diversion, as noisily as possible, while Leo and Paige were going to try and break into the cage and orb back with Cole.  
  
Elizabeth supplied everyone with long black cloaks with hoods, and they all shimmered to the Underworld, even Leo and Paige – so as not to be seen orbing – into the middle of the gathering.  
  
There were all sorts there, some in demon form - like Belthazor, to small gnomes, to men in business suits and women in long dresses, most wore the long cloaks, but some didn't bother.  
  
Tems morphed as he shimmered, back into his demon form, and pushed his way to the front, shouting about the lost Grimore, and how Zaytak was breaking all the rules. Zaytak's followers took exception, and a shouting match began, with Boraz, and Elizabeth adding their bit to the argument, generally shouting and yelling and making as much noise as possible.  
  
Piper froze the guard that was standing by the cage, and Leo and Paige orbed into it, grabbed Cole, who seemed to be unconscious, and orbed out.  
  
Then slinking back through the crowd, who were all now yelling at eachother, Boraz took Piper's hand, and Elizabeth took Phoebe's, and they all shimmered away.  
  
The whole exercise had taken less than 10 minutes!  
  
They all reappeared in the sunroom, only seconds behind Leo and Paige, who had laid Cole on the large sofa. Leo stood looking down at his former friend, an almost sad look in his eyes.  
  
"Can you heal him?" asked Elizabeth softly, as she sat down on the sofa, and stretched out a hand to touch her son – for the first time in 30 years.  
  
Leo looked down. "I don't know if I should try," he said "It's against everything I represent."  
  
"Why?" asked Jael, stepping forward. "He needs help."  
  
"He was dangerous – will be dangerous to my family," said Leo, looking at Piper for some sort of clue as to what she was thinking.  
  
Elizabeth looked up at Leo. "If you are scared of him – you have my word that I will not let him harm you. – Any of you." And she looked around at Phoebe, standing back, her hand over her mouth, and her eyes fixed on Cole's face.  
  
Leo turned to look at his sister in law.  
  
"Phoebe?" he asked, a question in his voice.  
  
Tears had formed in her big brown eyes, and began spilling over, down her cheeks.  
  
"I never thought I 'd see him again." She said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.  
  
Piper moved to put her arm around her sister; Paige also moved to stand close.  
  
"Take that thing off, from around his neck," said Boraz practically, "Then he will heal himself – or at least stop bleeding all over your sofa."  
  
Elizabeth put her hand on the torc, and twisted it slightly, but the magic prevented her from opening it. Boraz bent down, and touched it, murmuring a few words in an old and powerful language, and the torc broke into two pieces.  
  
The wound in Cole's side stopped bleeding immediately, and even as they watched, it began to knit together. The bruises and the blood on his jaw and face also vanished, before their eyes. He gave a great gasp, and his eyes flew open.  
  
Phoebe had not looked into Cole's eyes for a long time. She stepped forward, not knowing yet whether she was going to throw herself into his arms, or slap him and run away. Her heart began to beat faster, this was Cole, this was the love of her life, her soul mate. She couldn't help the joyous smile that trembled on her lips.  
  
"Cole – oh Cole," she said breathlessly, and took a tentative step forward.  
  
He looked at her blankly, then his eyes swept away, and he saw his mother. He directed his blank stare at her too; then closed his eyes again for a moment, unable to believe what he was seeing, and where he was.  
  
There was complete silence; then Cole opened his eyes again, and stood up, swaying a little on his feet.  
  
He stood like that, staring around the room, for a good minute while he tried to work out what had happened to him. He tentatively put his left hand up to where the torc had been, and rubbed his neck looking from person to person, and finally ending up staring at Jael, with complete bewilderment in his eyes.  
  
Phoebe moved forward again, and reached out to touch him, but he flinched away from her, turning that blank, dead stare back on her, and then, before anyone could stop him, he shimmered out.  
  
"Well, that's O.K. – don't bother to thank us," yelled Paige after him.  
  
"Wait here," said Elizabeth, and immediately shimmered after him.  
  
The Charmed Ones and Leo all stared at the three Other World visitors.  
  
"Would you like us to wait outside?" asked Jael, nervously, and he, Tems and Boraz began walking towards the door.  
  
"No – wait a moment," said Piper. "You can wait in here – I know you mean us no harm. Can I get anyone a drink – Coffee perhaps?"  
  
The sorcerer bowed his head to her, and smiled. "Thank you, that would be pleasant," he said, in his deep voice. The other two nodded, in confirmation.  
  
"Pheebs snap out of it, - a little help in here," said Piper, walking towards the kitchen. "Paige, can you entertain our guests?" And she pushed her stricken sister into the room ahead of her.  
  
Elizabeth materialized in the mausoleum, seconds after Cole. He swung around to face her, and she stepped forward, reaching out towards him. He backed away slowly, till he came up hard against his father's tomb.  
  
"You are not real," he said, forming a fireball. "I don't know what you want – and I don't care. Get away from me."  
  
"Cole," she said softly. "I was captured, not killed. Tems, Boraz and I, we were betrayed by Raynor. You know what he was like." She moved a step closer, and he lifted the fireball higher, a look of anguish on his face.  
  
"What do you want from me?" he asked, not believing her, not allowing himself to believe her.  
  
"I don't want anything from you," she said, moving still closer. "I am your mother. A simple hello would be good."  
  
He threw the fireball at her with all his strength, and she vanished, while the fireball smashed into the opposite wall, and she materialized again, this time directly in front of him.  
  
"Open your eyes, Cole, look at me. I am your mother."  
  
Cole slowly sank to his knees, putting both his hands over his face.  
  
"I can't do this anymore," he said, "I can't play these stupid games. Tell whoever sent you that I just want to be left alone. Who was it – was it Zaytak, or the Elders, or even the Charmed Ones? I don't care anymore – I just want to go away, and be by myself."  
  
He gave a great sigh, then looked up at her. He reached up and a dagger materialized in his hand. He presented it to her, hilt first.  
  
"Do what you came to do," he said thickly, "I won't fight you, I am too tired – kill me now." And he dropped his head down, baring his neck to the knife she held.  
  
For a good 30 seconds, she stared down at his bowed head; then reached down and with her hand curling into a fist, she administered the hardest punch she could to the side of his face.  
  
"How dare you just give up, like this!" she screamed at him. "I have some idea what has been going on in your life lately, and that is no excuse. You are right. You are no son of mine. No one with my blood would just wimp out and give up. You make me feel sick."  
  
And she hit him again, as hard as she could, and sent him rocking back on his heels.  
  
He flung his head up, and stared at her, his blue eyes cloudy with unshed tears. "Mother?" he whispered, almost afraid to believe it. "Is it really you?"  
  
Elizabeth glared down at him, clenching the dagger in her hand. "Yes," she replied, "I am so tempted to carve my name on your forehead with this."  
  
He surged to his feet, and grabbed her around the waist, swinging her around, and then they hugged for the first time in 30 years. Cole could not help the few tears that now rolled down his cheeks. He held her tight for what seemed like hours. Finally he pulled away, and still holding her stammered "How – how did you survive? How did you know what was going on here? How did you get the Charmed One's to help? How...?"  
  
"We have a lot of catching up to do," she replied, reaching up to touch his face gently. "I will get the others, and we will go somewhere, and you will hear the full story – of Raynor's betrayal, of our capture, our existence, our escape – and I want to hear your story, I want to know what evil things Raynor taught you, why you killed the Triad and married the witch – how you ended up so powerful – and whether or not we can save Belthazor. Do you wish to come with me – or go and arrange somewhere for us to stay – can you hire a suite of rooms somewhere – or even a house?"  
  
"I don't want to see the Charmed One's again," he said, biting his bottom lip. "I can't see Phoebe again ever – I hurt her too much before, and she hurt me, too. I'll just wait here – don't, don't be too long."  
  
Elizabeth squeezed his hand, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll be very quick," she said, and shimmered away.  
  
Cole sank back down to the ground, closing his eyes, his brain whirling around, still half in shock. 


	15. Chapter 14 Final

CHAPTER 14  
  
Elizabeth materialized in the sunroom of the Halliwell manor, just as the coffee cups were being collected.  
  
Paige jumped a little at the unexpected appearance, and dropped a cup, but Piper managed to freeze it before it hit the tiled floor, and shattered.  
  
Phoebe stood up quickly, and her eyes searched Elizabeth's face.  
  
"Did you find Cole? Did you catch up with him?" she demanded urgently.  
  
Elizabeth nodded, and smiled slightly. "Yes, I caught up with him, and talked to him." She turned at looked at her three followers.  
  
"We will meet up with Cole in a moment." She said to them, and then walked towards Piper.  
  
"I wish to thank you for your help," she said, taking her hand, and giving it a gentle shake. "We will not bother you again. If you ever need our help...."  
  
"Just a minute," cried Phoebe, "Is Cole coming back here? You can't just leave, I need to speak to Cole."  
  
Elizabeth just looked at her, with a gleam of sadness in her eyes. "Cole told me that he doesn't want to see you," she said gently, "I think perhaps, that it is for the best. He said that he's sorry he hurt you, but that you hurt him too. He said to tell you goodbye."  
  
"No," cried Phoebe, and tears filled her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks. "He can't do this to me!"  
  
She stamped her foot in anger, and dashed the tears away from her eyes. "We can't leave it like this," she whispered. "There has to be some sort of closure."  
  
Jael stepped forward, a hard expression on his usually pleasant face.  
  
"I thought you had closure when you vanquished him, for the second time." He said harshly. "It was Cole that was struggling with the need for closure. It was Cole that was struggling with the will to stay alive – and he had no one around to help him."  
  
"That's enough," said Leo, stepping forward, and putting his arms around Phoebe, who was sobbing. "We vanquished Cole because he was a threat to us, to our family. He was evil, he deserved death."  
  
The atmosphere of friendship vanished in an instant; then all four Underworld representatives shimmered away, without another word.  
  
Phoebe collapsed onto the sofa, where only moments before, Cole had been lying, and curled into a ball, sobbing into a tightly held cushion. Leo tried to talk to her, but she turned away, and motioned him off.  
  
Piper and Paige both hovered for a moment then left the room, leaving Phoebe to weep once again, for her lost love. This time it was harder – she had seen him and she knew he was alive. And now she knew, he did not want her back.  
  
***********************************************  
  
Phoebe Halliwell stood and looked out of her bedroom window, at the lights of the city, spread before her. In the last three months, she had resumed her life, gone to work, played with Wyatt, laughed with her sisters, vanquished a demon or three or four, and gone to P3 at night with Paige or Piper, talking and dancing – she had been her usual bright and bubbly self – on the outside. She felt like she was dying on the inside.  
  
She had stopped feeling sorry for herself, and had begun to feel anger towards Cole for not allowing her a chance to make things right between them.  
  
He had no right to just leave without speaking to her, or letting her speak to him. He had no right to stop loving her, he had promised Unconditional LOVE. Just because she had vanquished him a couple of times, was no excuse. He had no right to make her feel this bad, when he was the one who had turned evil! Even if being evil hadn't been his fault – which she was only just starting to realize! The more she agonized over him, the angrier and less rational she became. He should have known, that she still loved him – even though she had told him she didn't. If he had loved her enough, he would have known she was lying.  
  
A knock on her door made her swing around, her heart thumping, as it always did when Cole was on her mind.  
  
She swung it open, and Leo was there, carrying Wyatt, who was chewing on a toy clown.  
  
"I thought you might be feeling a little down," he said, with his sweet smile, and placed the baby in her arms. "You've been a little quiet, lately,"  
  
She drew in a deep breath, and dropped a soft kiss on Wyatt's head.  
  
"I guess you're right," she said. "I can't seem to get past the whole Cole thing. Oh Leo, the hurt doesn't stop," and she started crying again, sobbing into her brother in law's chest, the baby between them.  
  
"I have some news," he said, patting her shoulder. "I have been trying to decide whether to tell you or not."  
  
Her dark eyes flew to meet his; the tears shimmering in them made them look huge.  
  
"Yesterday, while I was in the park with Wyatt, I saw one of the demons that came here that day, with Cole's mother," he said.  
  
Phoebe started to tremble.  
  
"I followed as discreetly as I could," Leo continued, "to a house in Martin Place, just up from the park. I think that's where he is staying."  
  
Phoebe stared intently at him. "Do you think Cole is there?" she breathed.  
  
"I don't know," replied Leo honestly. "But the demon I followed probably knows where he is. I wasn't going to say anything, but Piper and I know just how unhappy you have been. You need to clear this up – you need to be able to move on."  
  
"You and Piper wouldn't be upset, if I went there, and asked after Cole?" asked Phoebe, studying Wyatt's head intently. "I mean – what would the Elders' say?"  
  
"The Elders' haven't said anything – I haven't told them either. Apart from Elizabeth, or one of the others turning up on their radar early on, they haven't mentioned them again. Obviously they are not causing any ripples in the realms, so I can't see a problem, at this stage. They definitely don't know about Cole."  
  
She kissed the top of the baby's head again, and hugged him tight. He squirmed a little in her hold, and put his arms out to his Daddy. Aunty Phoebe could be a little over the top sometimes.  
  
After a long and sleepless night, she sat at the breakfast table, sipping coffee and making senseless entries on her laptop. Paige looked across at her several times, before finally removing the computer from her grasp, and waving her hands to get Phoebe's attention.  
  
"Are you going to that house in Martin Place today?" she asked, perching on the cupboard, and crunching into a piece of toast. "Do you want me to come with you?"  
  
Phoebe looked at her, horrified.  
  
"No offense, sweetie, but I think not," she said. "If I go, and I'm not sure yet whether I will or not, I will go by myself. I know that they won't hurt me – or I know that Cole would not hurt me – physically at least."  
  
"Just be careful, if you do go," said Paige.  
  
All morning at the office, she was distracted, losing a whole article she had written, by deleting it out of her computer, and becoming clumsy, dropping a whole cup of hot coffee on her desk, and ruining several letters in her incoming mail tray. By lunchtime she was glad to escape outside. The day was not too bad, overcast but the threatened showers had held off, and the sun was even trying to shine.  
  
Phoebe drove out of the car park, and her car turned automatically towards the park that Leo had described.  
  
She found the street easily enough, and pulled up outside of the house he had spoken about. It was a very normal looking bungalow, no different than any other on the streets surrounding the park, except that the gardens looked lush and well cared for, peaceful and pretty.  
  
She sat staring at the front of the house, for a long, long time, unable to move, reliving in her mind, the last time she had seen Cole, (in this reality) when she had turned her back on him and left him desolate in the basement of the manor. She had said some very cruel things to him, things she had meant at the time. She had been very indifferent and very arrogant in her coldness towards him, it was easy to blame him for everything that had gone wrong in her life, and because he was unused to family, or anything in her reality, it had been too easy for her and her family to make a target of him.  
  
She had never considered his feelings, or the things that had shaped his character in the long and dark reaches of the Underworld. She had demanded his attention and adoration and expected it to last, even while she turned her back on him, and crushed his hopes, and participated in his vanquish.  
  
So she sat and started at her hands, clenched on the steering wheel, and drew a deep breath. She had never been a coward, but opening the door of the car seemed to be a huge obstacle.  
  
She knocked on the paneled door, and stood waiting, looking down at the tiled porch floor, praying for the right words to say, hoping whoever opened the door to her, would tell her where Cole was, would understand her need to see and speak with him again.  
  
She heard footsteps, and the door opened, and she found herself staring at a pair of bare feet, then her eyes slowly traveled up, taking in the length of his thighs in a pair of tight denim jeans, slightly worn, and hanging low on lean hips, a tanned and muscular torso, his chest wet and glistening, covered with crisp hair, up the strong column of his throat, past his strong jaw, his full and sensual mouth and into Cole's blue, blue eyes, that widened with surprise as her eyes moved achingly slowly up his body to meet them.  
  
It came to her that she had been here before, knocking on his door and him opening it to her in half naked glory. She had thrown herself into his arms that time. This time she couldn't stop staring at him, and her mind went blank and her mouth went dry.  
  
He was having much the same trouble himself, staring at her, as if unable to believe his eyes, leaning against the door frame, his hair was wet – she must have dragged him from his shower.  
  
A lifetime passed, and they stared at each other.  
  
Finally he straightened up, and folded his arms across his chest.  
  
"Phoebe," he said at last, and drew a deep breath. "What are you doing here?"  
  
She dragged her eyes away from his body, and looked down at her hands, clenching and unclenching them in agitation. "I had to come, Leo thought that I might find you here. I want to talk..." His face changed slightly, hardened, and he pulled back a little. "We have nothing to say to each other," he said, "You said it all when you threw that vanquish potion at me.'  
  
Phoebe's head came up swiftly; she glanced into his eyes, ice blue, and felt her heart sink. "That was then," she said softly, "I need to explain – I need..."  
  
"I'm really not interested in what you need," he said over the top of her faltering words. "I was possessed, you vanquished me, I came back and went crazy, and you vanquished me – did I miss something? I think that's about it. I can't remember you trying to help me – either when I was possessed or when I went mad. I don't think I want to stand here and listen to you justify your actions."  
  
He made to close the door, and Phoebe suddenly lost her temper, thrusting her shoulder to the door, and forcing it open, then pushing through, only to come up against the hardness of his body. She put her hands up to push him back, and was stopped short by the feel of his naked skin under her palms. She opened her mouth to say something, but was lost in the moment, sliding her hands over the muscles in his chest, feeling his skin velvet soft, but covering a warm hardness that her body remembered.  
  
He gave a half strangled groan, and his arms closed around her, his mouth slanted down over hers, then he was kissing her, like he used to, and she was standing on tip-toe kissing him back, searching, seeking and finding him, and she knew suddenly that this felt so right.  
  
After what seemed like a lifetime, he pulled away, and took several steps back, his blue eyes very dark, his chest heaving with emotion. "Don't do this to me," he whispered, "I can't do this again."  
  
Phoebe pulled his dark head back close. "Yes, you can," she said, a bubble of hope and joy forming deep inside her chest and expanding quickly, rising to flood her whole being. He still loved her, she could feel it in his kiss, and in the way his arms had crushed her to him. "We were meant to be together Cole, meant for one another."  
  
He began backing away from her, shaking his head, but she followed and grabbed his hand. "Why did you come here?" he asked again, "What do you want from me?"  
  
"I came here for closure," she said softly, "But that's not what I want anymore."  
  
He retreated further into the house, and still she followed. "We can't be together," he whispered, "It never works."  
  
"Yes we can," she said determinedly, "We have before, and we can again. This time there is no Source, no Seer, no outside influence "  
  
"I don't want to," he said, backing up till he hit the wall. "I don't love you. – I don't love you. I will always remember that you threw the vanquish potion at me, not once, but twice. It is over, Phoebe, dead and buried, like you wanted me to be."  
  
Phoebe stared at him, stricken.  
  
Then she noticed his hands start to shake, and the muscle that jumped in his jaw. His voice said one thing, his eyes another. She clenched her own hands, and summoned her courage.  
  
"I will keep coming back," she said softly, but with chilling emphasis. "I will haunt your every move. I will become the worst stalker ever; I'll be behind you, wherever you go. You will not be able to turn around without seeing me. I love you Cole, I always have. I have been stupid and sometimes insensitive to you, ignorant of what was happening to you, and quick to leap to the wrong conclusions. O.K., that all happened – but I still love you, and I will not give up this time without a bloody good fight!"  
  
"I don't love you," he said again, defensively, but she came closer to him, and put her arms around his neck. "I love you," she whispered, "I will never give up on us again."  
  
He gave another groan, and buried his face in her neck. She clasped him tightly, her heart beating wildly, and then jumped like crazy when someone behind her began applauding. Swinging around, she found herself staring into Elizabeth's blue eyes.  
  
"That was a very impressive performance, witch," she said, walking forward till she was standing next to Phoebe.  
  
"I meant every word," said Phoebe defiantly, lifting her chin. "I want us to try again. He loves me I know he does. I don't care what you or anyone else thinks."  
  
"What will your own family say?" queried Elizabeth, "Do you think they will be pleased to find you throwing yourself at someone they don't approve of?"  
  
"I don't care what they think either," Phoebe replied. Both women stared at each other, ignoring Cole who was still pressed up against the wall, motionless.  
  
After a long while, Elizabeth broke her silence by stretching her hand out towards Phoebe. "Do you really love him?" she asked, and Phoebe took her hand, closing her eyes as she felt the other woman probed her thoughts and emotions, allowing the invasion, almost welcoming it.  
  
After a moment, Elizabeth dropped her hand, and smiled. "She is one determined lady, Cole," she said to her son. "Perhaps you'd better go and get dressed, while Phoebe and I talk."  
  
Cole looked at his mother, and took a deep breath. "I..." he began, but both women glared at him.  
  
"This isn't about you," said Elizabeth – "Well, it is, but we need to talk – so go and get dressed."  
  
Cole went.  
  
Phoebe followed Elizabeth into the sitting room, and sat down opposite the other woman.  
  
"This is highly unusual," said Elizabeth, "But I know how much you care right now – will it last this time?"  
  
Phoebe smiled. "I can predict the future," she said softly. "I know it will, this time."  
  
"You will have many obstacles," said Elizabeth, "None the least will be Cole himself. Do you know we have been slowly stripping the powers he got from the Wasteland? That they were killing him? That Boraz has been studying hard, to see if we can restore Belthazor, for while Cole has this void, it is easy for other things to come and dwell inside him? Could you live with Belthazor? Could your family?"  
  
"They did before -I did before," said Phoebe, "And that's when we were happiest. I am wiser this time. I love Cole – and I know he loves me, whatever he says. I want to help; I want to be part of his life. I want him to be part of mine. And if that includes Belthazor, well, I can learn to love that part of him too!"  
  
Cole walked into the room at that point, and Phoebe looked up at him, her heart in her eyes. It was obvious he had heard her words. He had donned a plain white tee shirt, and dried his hair. He looked at her helplessly, and then held out his hand. She flew off the couch into his arms, not caring that Elizabeth was watching, not caring about what her family would say, not caring about anything, but the sight, taste and feel of him. She belonged in his arms. Whatever problems they had, could be sorted out, but she was not going to let go of him again. In his embrace, she was fulfilled, she was happy and she was safe.  
  
The End. (I hope to be writing a follow up to this story, with some of the characters I have introduced – please let me know what you think – I really need and appreciate your reviews. 


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